The Way of the Geisha
by chancewriter
Summary: When Hinata was kidnapped by Kumo, Hiashi could not save her and everyone thinks she died. She ends up in a very different life from the ninja she was supposed to be, but her ninja life is never far behind her. M for small lemon in Ch 18 & Epilogue
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09 - n.b. - Jiraiya's not as ignorant as he appears...**

"Aww, Pervy-Sage do we have to?" Naruto whined as he dragged his body behind his sensei.

"Naruto, why do you have to be such a party-pooper, huh? You've been training all day, you should let loose and have a little fun?" Jiraiya said as he took huge steps on his geta, furthering the gap between him and his apprentice.

"Training?!" Naruto cried in indignation. "If by training you mean that I spent the day looking into every spa there was and then getting chased out of said spas and then when I finally did catch up to you I spent the rest of that time being chased by irate women, jealous husbands and mysteriously enough, two rabid dogs, then yes, I suppose I did train today. I trained in how not to be a perverted sensei!"

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"Who's using sarcasm?" Naruto muttered.

It was night time in the Land of Lightning, a country only a few miles to the northeast of Konohagakure, in the Land of Fire. It was a surprisingly warm October night and the Kumogakure nightlife was bustling. Everyone was out and about dressed up as they hopped from restaurants to teahouses to little vending stalls to whatever else they had to do. The night was so bubbling with activity that it gave the appearance of making everyone look eager and cheerful if looked at as a whole. Well, everyone else looked cheerful except for the miserable-looking ninja clad ironically in a bright seizure-inducing orange jumpsuit. His hair colour was a bright laser lemon yellow, a colour that could only be found in a box of crayons. He had three whisker marks on each side of his cheeks that unfortunately made him appear cute instead of fierce because of his yet to melt baby fat. Naruto Uzumaki was thirteen going on fourteen years old and was on a training of a lifetime. If only that training would start he would be so happy. Instead, Naruto fixed a scowl onto his face and walked through Kumogakure with annoyance radiating off of him like cartoon stink waves.

"Pervy-sage, I really don't want to visit any stupid teahouse to see any stupid geisha! I want to train. I want you to train me!"

"The first thing I have to train you in is how to shut up." Jiraiya muttered. "Look Naruto, I'm taking you to a geisha house because I think that there is something that can be learned from them. Geisha are calm, collected women whose entire career is centred on control, which by the way is something you lack."

Naruto's eyes widened as he digested his sensei's words with awe as if manna from the heavens had spilled from Jiraiya's mouth. "Control, huh? You're right. I do lack control and if these geisha can help me then I'm all for it. Let's do this!" Naruto fist-pumped with excitement, while Jiraiya marvelled at Naruto's ability to eat up shit. The legendary Sannin chuckled to himself as he led Naruto into the teahouse.

"Jiraiya-sama, so glad of you to visit us again. It has been too long." The mistress of the teahouse bowed deeply as Jiraiya and his pupil walked in.

"It's good to be back. I have a young student with me and I just thought that I'd introduce him to one of the finest attractions that Kumogakure has to offer. So, are you busy?"

The mistress giggled and blushed as Naruto tried his best not to gag.

"Oh Jiraiya-sama, you say such naughty things. Let me lead you and your young apprentice to the main banquet hall. We have a new maiko with us tonight. She made her debut recently. Maybe I can interest you in meeting her."

"Maiko? She might be a bit young for me. She might be better suited to my apprentice here."

Naruto gave Jiraiya a sideways scowl as he muttered, "Too young for you? The International Handbook for Perverts prohibits you or something?"

"Yes. Chapter 7, Section 36 D." Jiraiya snipped at Naruto.

"36D? Why Jiaraiya I thought you already knew the right size." Naruto looked up and standing in the doorway to the banquet hall was a tall and most stunning geisha dressed in a light manatee blue kimono with silver lines to represent the reflection of the sun in a stream. She was extraordinarily pretty and though she was a geisha, there was something very commanding about her.

"Nayako!" Jiraiya exclaimed and smiled his toothiest, perviest grin of all.

"Who's the shrimp?" Nayako looked past Jiraiya to see a quietly seething Naruto.

"I am no shrimp! I am five feet three and a half inches!"

"This is not an arena, kid. There's no need to shout in that big voice. But then I suppose something has to be big on you." Jiraiya joked and Nayako laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Naruto growled and charged after Jiraiya, obviously not taking into consideration that he was about to tackle a legendary Sannin. Jiraiya however, did not even need to draw upon any of his legendary Sannin jutsu. He simply stepped aside and Naruto bowled straight into the banquet hall where he collided heavily with a table.

"Ow. Stupid pervy-sage who thinks he knows better than everyone else. Well I'll show him and his white hair that looks like someone took a razor blade to a roll of toilet paper –"

"Are you alright?"

Naruto's bitter mutterings were interrupted by a sweet and timid voice. He looked up to see the most interesting eyes he had ever seen in his entire life. Her eyes looked like liquid smoke. They were a swirling platinum colour, a metallic tint of pale, greyish white. He had seen eyes similar to hers back in Konoha. Neji Hyuuga had eyes similar to these, but these eyes were different and more beautiful. These eyes had a hint of lavender swirling around in them. The lavender shifted with the light. He rose up himself, unconsciously drawing closer to the girl until any closer and he might head-butt her. Naruto realized that he must have been staring because he started to see a faint blush spreading across the girl's face despite the white makeup that was caked onto her face. Suddenly the girl swayed a bit and her eyes rolled to the back of her head and just like that she fainted and fell directly into his arms.

"Kid! What did you do?" Jiraiya shouted in horror.

"ME! I didn't do anything! I swear! Look I'm not even touching her!" Naruto said as he stood up with such speed that he got slight vertigo, but he couldn't have been as bad the young, pretty-eyed geisha who landed on the ground with a thud.

"Oh my!" Nayako cried and quickly came over to the apprentice geisha as she called for the mistress of the teahouse to bring smelling salts. Jiraiya shook his head in exasperation at Naruto who just realized what a prat he'd been and was now deliberating whether it was too late for heroic action. The mistress returned with smelling salts and Naruto decided that the least he could do was lift up the young apprentice. He propped her up against his shoulder as he held onto her shoulders. Gradually the girl's eyes started to flutter open and Jiraiya cleared his throat for Naruto to let go of the girl now. Naruto understood the code and stepped aside and the poor apprentice stumbled backwards and nearly fell again, but this time Naruto caught her. She turned to him and Naruto again couldn't help but notice her eyes. He could barely look at anything else. He was so close to her that if he moved forward a bit his nose would touch hers. He could feel her breath on his face. Oh oh. He could see the blush starting to creep up her face.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Hinata-chan." Nayako said, snapping Naruto out of his reverie. This time it was Hinata that gently pulled away reminding Naruto that he was touching a geisha inappropriately. It was _his_ time to blush now. He could hear Jiraiya's mischievous chuckle. "Are you feeling better, Hinata-chan?" Her older 'sister' Nayako asked.

"I am much better. Thank you for asking Nayako-san. I am sorry that I inconvenienced the party." She bowed deeply to both Jiraiya and Naruto, her eyes trained on the floor. Naruto grinned. This girl was so adorable.

"Ah don't worry about it, Hinata-chan. The room's really hot." Naruto said as he gave Hinata a wide grin. Hinata smiled weakly, careful not to have her eyes directly on Naruto.

"I bet she thinks something is hot in here." Jiraiya muttered and Nayako laughed heartily, while Hinata seemed to sink into the floor with shame, but she held up gracefully. Naruto looked confused, but this was a state that he was accustomed to, so he shook it off as an 'adult' joke. Hinata knew that while her 'sister' was laughing, she also knew that she was going to be in a lot of trouble later, so she had to try hard to salvage the situation later. She took a deep breath before she turned to speak to Naruto.

"Hello. My name is Hinata. I am an apprentice geisha and I beg your indulgence."

It was official. Naruto liked geisha. No one had ever met him for the first time and had shown him such respect. He knew it was all an act, but he couldn't help but be swooned by the fact that this girl looked like she was _actually_ happy to meet him and _wanted_ to indulge him.

"Hi. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm a Genin from the Hidden leaf village and I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

Hinata was overwhelmed. She couldn't help but smile at this young boy who was bursting at the seams with energy and confidence. He screamed assurance and tenacity. He was the exact opposite of her, yet she felt herself being drawn to him.

"You are from Konoha in the Land of Fire? I have never been there." Hinata had never been anywhere else but Kumogakure as far as she knew, but this was the correct response. Besides, she wished that Naruto would go on talking. There was something about him that she instantly liked.

"Oh! Konoha is beautiful! Not all this rain and clouds and lightning–" Hinata smiled politely and Naruto suddenly realized that he was being rude. "– I mean, lightning isn't that bad, if you like that sort of thing. I mean, the rain and the lightning kind of makes for dull days outside, but lightning isn't that bad. I mean, it'll kill you quickly unlike the rain which could drown you..." It was like he couldn't stop. One minute he was telling her about Konoha and the next he was rambling on for what seemed like hours about the best way to die. There was a loud, grating noise and Naruto realized that it was the sound of his own voice. He looked at Hinata desperately thinking, 'for Kami's sake, _do_ something!'

"That's a very unique view on lightning, Naruto-san. What are you doing here in Kumogakure?"

"Well, that's my sensei over there talking to that geisha, Nayako-san. He's Jiraiya. He's one of the legendary Sannin."

"Oh." Hinata's eyes bulged in surprise and awe and then she remembered that she was not supposed to do that; it wasn't particularly lady-like. She sure was racking up the points against herself. "I've heard of him and Lady Tsunade."

"Oh yeah. Granny-Tsunade is the current Hokage. I told her that she wouldn't even have time to let her seat get warm before I'm Hokage."

"Granny-Tsunade? How rude of you, Naruto-san."

"No, seriously. She's like really, really old. I'm sure her first mission was to probably dig up dinosaur bones that were still warm." Hinata giggled, covering her hand over her mouth as she did so; her eyes squeezed shut in mirth. Naruto realized that he really liked Hinata. She seemed...genuine, unlike Nayako-san over there who laughed at Jiraiya's jokes like her life depended on them. Only sound shattering silence should have followed Jiraiya's joke about the wasabi, but Nayako laughed like he tickled her in a forbidden place. Seriously, it wasn't that funny.

After Hinata composed herself, she offered Naruto tea and he accepted. She poured the tea and Naruto couldn't help but be enthralled by the simple gesture. He caught a glimpse of the underside of her forearm and was amazed that her skin was not a far cry from the white makeup on her face. Her skin was pale and smooth like porcelain. Naruto looked up and saw Jiraiya giving him a wink and he jumped, forcing himself to look anywhere but at Hinata's arm. Naruto would _not_ become a pervert! But he couldn't help but notice that Hinata-chan was so unlike any of the girls he knew. Sakura was a pink-haired force to be reckoned with in terms of her determination. Her pink hair was as feminine as she got, though Naruto still found her pretty. Ino was also pretty, but she was a blond, boy-crazy, overbearing, shrieking demon. Temari-san was another blond demon who was not as boy-crazy but similar to Ino in most respects. Ten Ten was a weapons master, so enough said about her femininity and grace. And of course, Granny-Tsunade was an old, blond demolition machine. Oh and Anko didn't wear underwear, so 'lady-like' wouldn't be the word he'd use to describe her.

But Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan was graceful and controlled. She had control in the way that she steered the conversation, in her determination to keep going even after she fainted because of the hot room, even her control in pouring tea. Jiraiya-sensei was right, Naruto decided. He could learn something from a geisha. He needed to be calm, centred and controlled in order to train better and go after Sasuke. Of course her looks was an added incentive to learn from her.

"This tea is delicious! Though I could really go for some ramen, right now."

"Ramen? Well, the best ramen shop in the world is located three blocks away from here."

"Pssh! The best ramen in the world is in Konoha. Ichiraku's ramen. Can't get better than life. I'd probably sell my soul for ramen like that."

"You sound like you're missing Konoha a lot. Why did you leave, Naruto-san?"

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to talk about Sasuke, but as he looked up at Hinata, he felt like he could talk about it. Her platinum-coloured eyes were inviting and caring. "Well, I left Konoha because I wasn't strong enough to stop my best friend from leaving. I made a promise to another friend of mine that I'd do everything in my power to bring back my 'brother', but I wasn't strong enough. He kicked my ah – I mean, he kicked my butt to within an inch of my life."

"Is he truly a friend if he can do that to you?"

"He's misguided, that's all."

"Hmm. So now you are searching for him?"

"Yep and in the meanwhile I have to try to get stronger and better. I don't have a choice. I made a promise. Some days though, it seems like an impossible task." He said the last part quietly.

There was a pause as Naruto reflected on the battle at the Valley of the End, oblivious to Hinata who was carefully doing her breathing exercises before she got the self-assurance to say what she had to say.

"N-N-N-Naruto-san, I've only just met you, but...I believe in you. I believe that you can do this."

Naruto stared at Hinata, amazed by the sincerity in her tone. Her voice was small and her eyes were trained to the ground. She was doing something odd with her hands. Her thumbs were touching as her index fingers repeatedly tapped each other. She looked like it took everything out of her to say something like that. This girl was shy. Naruto wanted to lift up her chin and look into her eyes and tell her something profound about not being so shy and having more confidence, but then he heard someone clear their throat and Hinata's head snapped up, her finger touching immediately stopped. The banquet hall door slid open and soon some businessmen and some more geisha filed in. Apparently, Hinata was quite the popular geisha because of her looks – everyone wanted to stare into her eyes. She was so busy that Naruto did not get to speak to her again for the rest of the night.

"Looks like you got bitten." Jiraiya said as he and Naruto left the teahouse a couple of hours later.

"What! No! I don't know what you're talking about. My focus is not on girls right now. I don't even like Hinata-chan like that. No love bug bit me. No siree."

"Who said anything about Hinata? No, I think a mosquito bit you behind your neck." Jiraiya said seriously.

"Really?" Naruto's hand flew up to feel for the bite.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. I was talking about Hinata. Kids these days are so gullible."

"Why you –" Naruto growled.

"Would you like to see her again?" Jiraiya asked seriously; seriously serious this time.

"Maybe. She's nice. I'm not accustomed to nice."

"Hmm. Too bad she won't be able to see you."

"Why the heck not?"

"Oh she can entertain you, but she won't be able to see you. Didn't you hear? They say she's blind, shrimp."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

Not for the life of Hinata could she figure out why the boy returned. She was almost positive that she had bored him to tears the last time that he came. He didn't ask her to pour him tea or sake. He didn't ask her to dance. He didn't ask her to sing (thank Heavens; she was a horrible singer since her voice sounded dangerously close to a cat warbling as her older geisha sister so helpfully pointed out). He did not ask her to play the shamisen or the flute. He did not ask her to play any games. Even when she realized that he would not beg her to indulge him, _she_ sought his indulgence and he still refused. The boy had spent only a few hours at the Ichimokari Teahouse and already he was privately nicknamed by the geisha as Mr. Sourpuss after Hinata had confided to Nayako that a lime would look at the boy and turn sour. If she was surprised that he had returned, she was flabbergasted that he specifically requested her company. Hinata however, was quite the busy apprentice geisha. She could not simply up and leave the current party just for some boy. She would be risking her reputation and her sister's wrath if she were to do that. Besides, the boy could wait an hour or two. He was so rude; he hadn't even spoken to her last time! What was she to do this time? Sit and let him watch her for the next hour? No, let him wait.

After Hinata and three other apprentice geisha spent two hours in the main banquet hall entertaining a group of businessmen, Hinata finally and politely excused herself to call upon the boy. She knelt down and slid open the door, her head tilted downwards as she stepped inside, then slid the door shut behind her. She bowed as low as was possible with her neck still straight and only the tips of her fingers touching the mat.

"I humbly apologize for keeping you waiting, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke did not say anything for a few seconds and Hinata's neck was beginning to ache in that position. She knew that he was punishing her for keeping him waiting but she could do nothing but wait until he told her to rise. The command came in the form of a barely audible, "Hn." She got up and smiled faintly at him, but did not dare look him in the eye; her eyes would betray how annoyed she was by his petulant attitude. She walked over to him and sat opposite him, the low table between them, except that he was seated on the windowsill overlooking the autumnal night sky.

"Would you like me to pour you some tea, Sasuke-san?" No response and Hinata had to physically remind herself not to roll her eyes. "Or would you prefer some sake?" Again, she got no reply. So far, it looked like an hour of him _not_ watching her, not answering her, not acknowledging her existence, not doing anything at all. Sasuke was propped up against the window with one foot dangling off the side of the window seat. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt which was open at the torso. He wore black pants with some sort of blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which he carried a sword. He didn't wear any headband of any hidden ninja villages, but Hinata could tell that Sasuke was a ninja. She had been in the presence of ninja before. Most of them were just like the businessmen she and her older sister entertained – just looking for a pretty girl to spend an evening with. They were ordinary people except for the fact that a lot of the times geisha only entertained them once or twice. Too many of them never returned to the teahouses because they couldn't return at all. Abnormally high mortality rates were to be expected in the way of the ninja. Ninja did not really scare her, especially the blond ninja she met a month ago – Naruto-san, whom she had nicknamed Mr. Sunshine. But this boy, Mr. Sourpuss, made her feel...uneasy. She couldn't quite put a name to the feeling she got when she first met him a month ago. He arrived five minutes after Naruto-san left and he looked out of place like a lemon in a bowl of strawberries. Still, she had to entertain him. But throughout all of her efforts, she kept getting a strange feeling; a feeling as if something bad was about to happen.

"You can pour me some tea if you like." Sasuke suddenly said and Hinata flinched at the abrupt sound of his voice in the still room. Hinata nodded and was surprised when he slid off of the window seat to come sit opposite her. He rested both his hands on his laps and calmly watched her as she replaced the teapot back onto the table. Her small hands slid across the table to feel for the cutlery. She was just about to take up a spoon when Sasuke said, "Let me help you." He moved too quickly, almost clumsily and ended up knocking the spoon and the saucer off the table, but Hinata caught it in time. It was his fault, yet she apologized.

"I am so clumsy, Sasuke-san, please forgive me."

"Forgive you for hiding the fact that you can see?"

Hinata stopped and looked up to meet his unusually black eyes. She stilled her breathing and lowered her eyes in the most coquettish way her older sister had taught her.

"You should not tease me so, Sasuke-san. I would give anything to be able to rest my eyes upon you."

"Cut the nonsense, Geisha!" He slammed his fist on the table making the china jump and Hinata's heart tremble. At that moment she was terrified of the boy in front of her. He couldn't have been any more than fourteen, but he had struck fear into her. She stood still and if something had brushed against her at that very moment she would have screamed or fainted. "Everyone in Kumogakure comes to see the fair-eyed blind geisha. But I've been watching you. You are not blind, are you? Answer me."

Hinata closed her eyes and stilled her breathing. Interestingly enough an image of another ninja came to mind, an image of Mr. Sunshine, Naruto-san. She spoke to that boy for five minutes a month ago and he made such an impression on her that she was recalling him in a time like this when she should have been calling on God or whichever higher power that was willing to get her out of this mess. Be stronger and better, that's what Naruto-san said that he had to do. Hinata knew that her older sister, Nayako, would have somehow skilfully woven an interesting story out of air and would probably have had Sasuke-san confessing that it was really _he_ who was blind; Nayako was that good. But Hinata was not her older sister. She just had to try to be. Now what was a good-enough lie?

"Don't even think about lying to me." Hinata looked up at him, her breath hitched. There was a moment when the two simply stood there staring into each other's face. He had a quiet and intense intimidation to him. An eternity could have passed as far as Hinata was concerned. Finally, after a while, Sasuke spoke up. "You're not blind, but you can't see well, can't you?"

Hinata considered lying again, but recognized that it would be senseless to do that. This boy seemed to be reading all of her ploys in advance.

"No, I'm not blind. I can see v-v-vague and f-f-f-f-fuzzy outlines of things - I knew that the cup fell because I could see a small, white b-b-b-blur tipping off the table. I know that I am speaking to Sasuke-san because I can see a blur of your hair a-a-and of your sword and clothes. I can barely make out the lines on m-my hand." Her voice was soft, almost above a whisper, tears were pooling in her eyes.

"Can you see my chakra?"

"What? No."

"Hn. I believe you. I'm pouring chakra into my eyes to activate my Sharingan, but you are not affected by it because you cannot see it properly."

Hinata leaned forward a bit and squinted and the tears she was trying so hard not to let show spilled over onto her cheeks. Great, now her makeup was ruined. She patted her cheeks with a handkerchief that she pulled from inside her kimono sleeve. She could barely make out that his eyes were red now, but to be honest they also looked kind of black and maybe a little bit brown to her. She'd be a horrible witness in a police line-up. Sasuke sighed heavily and passed a hand through his hair.

"Why haven't you gotten glasses?"

"It would b-b-be unattractive on a geisha, so I was forbid-d-d-den. Also, my eyesight has only det-t-teriorated over the years. Glasses would be considered a w-waste of money."

"Where were you born?"

"I-I-I-I was b-b-born in Kumogakure's hospital th-th-thirteen years ago. My birth date is D-D-December 27th." Lord, how she wished she could stop stuttering! She sounded absolutely ridiculous, but at this point in time Hinata was so scared she was ready to confess to a crime she did not commit.

"You don't have to be scared. I've decided not to kill you."

"Oh." Hinata said and later thought that even if she had said nothing it still wouldn't have been as inadequate as 'oh.' Her body did relax, however.

"I came to the teahouse a month ago because I thought that you were someone else. I thought that I could have used your eyes. Unfortunately for me and luckily for you, you are a simple half-blind civilian."

Yes, lucky for me, Hinata cynically thought. Why the hell would he want her half-blind eyes, she thought wildly. There's nothing special about them besides their colour.

"Have you always been able to see or rather not see like that?"

"Yes. My f-first memory is of a blurry man." I even dreamt in a blur, she thought morosely.

"You've never been able to see clearly?"

"No."

"Hn. I suppose you cannot miss what you never had."

"That's not true." She muttered and wished that she hadn't. She wished that there was something to busy herself with. Why couldn't he ask her to dance or play the flute or better yet, ask her to leave?

"Explain yourself."

Hinata closed her eyes briefly and remembered Naruto saying that he was going to be Hokage someday. She remembered his joke about his current Hokage. He was such a confident and fearless boy. Why couldn't she be like that? She could be, she supposed, if she just worked harder and stronger, like Naruto-san. She re-opened her eyes and tried to imagine that she was speaking to Naruto.

"Well, even though you've never had something or you lost something, you know that you should have had it. You start to want it so much that you imagine it. You imagine it to the point where it feels real, but it's not. It's the definition of quasi – similar, but not quite. When you realize that it's the quasi reality that you've made up, you accept it, but you miss it. You miss the quasi-reality and yearn for the reality that could never be yours."

Sasuke said nothing for a while and Hinata wished that she could have sucked her head into her shoulders.

"I know what you mean." He responded after a long while. It was so long that Hinata almost forgot what he was talking about and had to blink several times to remember. "Hn. You forgot what we were talking about, didn't you?"

Hinata blushed and tilted her head in shame as she busied herself with pouring tea for him. She was no longer feeling a pressure of fear from him. She only felt a longing for time to pass by quickly.

"Are you the top apprentice geisha?"

"No. I did not win the award for that last month."

"I thought that you geisha were stupid women, fawning over men in an attempt to fulfil their fantasies of the perfect subservient women."

You sure know how to make a girl feel good Sasuke-san, she cynically thought but only tightly smiled as an acknowledgement to his statement.

"You're not stupid, though." He continued and Hinata mumbled a polite thank you. "I haven't had an intelligent conversation with a girl in quite a while."

"Thank you, Sasuke-san."

"Do you read?"

"Yes."

"Street signs don't count." Hinata stretched her lips tightly to keep from showing any sign of irritation at his comment. Sasuke gave a faint smirk, too faint for someone with 20/20 vision to see it, so obviously Hinata missed it completely.

"Yes, I read novels and plays and poems in Braille or sometimes my sister reads to me."

"Do you want to be the best geisha?"

Hinata tried her best to hide her confusion not so much at the obvious answer to his question, but more so that his questions kept jumping from topic to topic.

"Yes, of course."

"You should strive to be the best. I only associate with the best. You can become the best if you play on your strengths – your eyes, your beauty, your intelligence and your grace." Hinata knew that she had just received a compliment, but his voice was so emotionless it was like listening to a court verbatim reporter read back the transcript of a testimony.

"Thank you very much, Sasuke-san. I shall endeavour not to shame you."

He said nothing, only sipping on his tea. After a while, when her discomfort reached a peak, he said suddenly,

"Dance for me."

"If that is what you wish, I'll fetch a geisha to play the drums or the shamisen for us." Hinata rose, but Sasuke stopped her with a question.

"Can't you dance if the song is played on the radio?"

Hinata paused, thinking. She desperately wanted another girl in here.

"The dance is better accompanied by live music."

"Can you not dance to a recorded song? What sort of a geisha are you? Geisha are supposed to be like ninja in the sense that they should be adaptable."

He was staring her down and Hinata wanted to cry from her anger and disappointment. She should have been able to sway his mind, she thought morosely, but nothing came to her.

"Of course I can dance to any song, Sasuke-san. I'll tell the maid to fetch me a radio."

She walked over the door, feeling his eyes on her back. She wondered what he was thinking. For most men they would be wondering what was underneath her kimono. They'd be going wild over the two strips of bare flesh at the nape of her neck that was not covered by makeup or the kimono. She remembered that she did not get that sense from Naruto-san. Naruto-san had an aura of innocence about him that she liked. Sasuke-san had an aura of darkness that she mistrusted. She quietly told the maid that she needed a radio that could play tape and she also asked for the tape of one of the more popular songs. The maid returned unnecessarily soon for Hinata's liking, but Hinata thanked her anyway and turned to find an outlet for the radio as a way to buy time. She was concentrating so much on finding an outlet for the radio that Hinata took a moment before her brain registered the strange sound in the room as Sasuke giving a brief and barely audible snort of laughter. She turned to him.

"By pure will power alone you'll make a plug appear from that battery operated radio."

Hinata looked down at the radio and indeed it was battery operated. She felt so ashamed, but she had to admit that that was ridiculous and she ended up smiling; her first genuine smile for the evening. She gently rested the radio in the corner and pressed play as she removed a fan from the sleeves of her kimono and assumed her dancing position.

Hinata danced for Sasuke but she couldn't tell if he was interested in the dance or not. He didn't seem like somebody that cared about dance, but he did ask her to dance... It was a slow song, with carefully controlled steps and intricately subtle foot and hand movements. From a tap of her foot to a twitch in her baby finger; each movement meant something, telling a story of a princess willing to do anything to balance the relationship she had with an outcast and respecting her familial duties. There was an intensity in the air like that of a plucked guitar string waiting to be released.

With a sudden and unexpected movement, she spun quickly and hid her face behind the opened fan, leaving her eyes visible to him. He stared at her as if he were staring at his shoes – with no particular interest whatsoever. The dance finished and he didn't compliment her or say thank you. Hinata wondered whether she had disappointed him. She was an excellent dancer if nothing else. She returned to her seat, a bit unsure of what to say to him or what to do. She wished Nayako was there! This was Hinata's most difficult client yet.

"You can be very beguiling, but you need to work on it." Sasuke said to her. He had this far away look in his eyes like he was thinking of something. Hinata was confused. Why couldn't his hour with her _end_?

Sasuke suddenly rose and Hinata rose with him. He was taller than her by a couple of inches and he was taller than Naruto-san. He was not as good company as Naruto-san, however. He slid open the door and stepped out into the hall where she accompanied him. She walked behind him with her kimono fluttering like wind in the leaves, following the blurry outline of his back. Seeing was getting more and more difficult and she slowed considerably, even though she knew the teahouse like the back of her hand. He walked all the way to the exit of the teahouse and the mistress of the teahouse thanked him and begged him to come again. He ignored her as he paid the bill. Instead, he turned to Hinata and said,

"I think that you can be very useful to me, Hinata. I have some business to take care of in Otogakure. I'll be back in about a month's time."

Hinata couldn't very well tell him that if she never saw him again it'd be too soon, so she smiled politely and bowed deeply. He turned and walked off. Hinata rose and poked her head out of the teahouse and watched him disappear into the night. Her encounter with the mysterious ninja, Sasuke, left her with a frown on her face. What plan did Sasuke have for her, she wondered. She turned and looked up the other side of the street. Two out of focus figures were coming toward the teahouse, but she'd recognize that orange and yellow blur anywhere. Jiraiya-sama and Naruto-san stepped out suddenly under the streetlamp as they headed straight for the teahouse.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

Hinata turned to tell the mistress that Naruto and Jiraiya were approaching and that she should send a message to Nayako to let her know that her favourite client was here. Jiraiya always paid more than the going rate to spend time with Nayako. However, the message was unnecessary for Nayako seemed to have sniffed her paycheck in the air and appeared at the entrance of the teahouse at the same time that Naruto and Jiraiya showed up.

"You call for an angel and she appears." Jiraiya said as Nayako seemed to have magically materialized at the teahouse. The more experienced Geisha led the two men into the teahouse with Hinata trailing in a daze. How lucky was she to see Naruto now and how lucky she was to be rid of Sasuke!

"You were away for a long time, Naruto-san." Hinata said after she was seated next to him in the banquet hall. There were six other Geisha there with their maiko and a good few other businessmen seated around a low U-shaped table. Jiraiya was seated opposite Naruto with Nayako on Jiraiya's side as she entertained both Jiraiya and another businessman to the side of her.

"Yeah, just giving Pervy-sage a bit of time for his eardrums to heal." Naruto joked as he nodded to Nayako who was cackling loudly in Jiraiya's ear at some stupid 'joke' he had made. Hinata giggled, a bit surprised at herself and showed it.

"Why do you look so surprised? Are you not supposed to laugh?"

"No, it's not that. I had a difficult client recently."

"Oh." It seemed as if for the first time Naruto was reminded of exactly what Hinata was up to when he was not there. She entertained other men, a fact that Naruto did not like to dwell on. He looked at Hinata who was wearing a black kimono with white orchid prints on it and a stunning red obi with green and gold etchings. He knew that other men were probably just as captivated with her as he was. "Well I hope he doesn't come back, then. I'd hate to run into him."

"I wish that he'd never come back, but I don't think that'll be the case. I would have encouraged prayer, black magic and large-denomination coins slipped under some assassin's door if it meant that I wouldn't have to see him again." Naruto laughed making Hinata blush. She hadn't realized that she had said that out loud. What on earth made her say something so mean about another client in front of another client? Naruto looked at Hinata as if seeing her for the first time. He wasn't expecting this, he wasn't expecting funny.

"That guy must have been really...shady, huh?"

"Shady?"

"Well, I can't say shitty in front of you. Argh! I mean –" Hinata giggled and Naruto felt like an idiot and he told her as much.

"No, I don't think that you're an idiot, Naruto-san. I think that you're a great guy. You seem like an honest person who would never go back on a promise. You promised that you'd get stronger and bring back your best friend and that's exactly what you're doing. It takes a lot of strength to keep to the things that we promise."

He looked at her surprised that she said so much and she was just as amazed that she didn't stutter once. Naruto noticed the look of awkward self-consciousness creeping up on her face, threatening to take over. He decided to use distraction to take her mind off of her insecurity.

Naruto ended up telling Hinata the story of how exactly Sakura and Sasuke came to mean so much to him. He left out a few key information choices like the fact that he had a demon inside of him; he was almost sure it would be of no consequence. He was a ninja and he knew that it would be in everyone's best interest if he did not name names so he nicknamed Sakura, Ms. A and Sasuke, Mr. B to make things simpler for him and Hinata.

"You sound like you really like Ms. A." Hinata said. She realized that she was feeling sudden and acute jealousy as she poured tea for Naruto. It made no sense. If she counted this instance, she'd only have known Naruto-san for roughly forty-five minutes.

"Yep, I sure do!" Naruto insensitively exclaimed, making the teapot almost slip from Hinata's grasp. He failed to notice. "She's one of my closest friends."

"I see. I wish that you find your friend, Mr. B, soon. I wish that I could find him for you."

Naruto smiled at her thinking that he seriously doubted Sasuke would ever be in a teahouse talking to Geisha.

"Hinata are you really blind?" He suddenly asked.

Hinata froze. Was it that obvious? What were the odds that she would be asked that same question in one night, granted that this time the question was not floating around in the malice of Sasuke-san.

"I can see a bit, not much." She whispered.

"AHA! I knew it!" Naruto shouted loud enough for him to be heard in Konoha and Hinata wondered if Naruto had an appreciation of irony after he made all those jokes about Nayako laughing so eardrum-shatteringly loud.

"Shh! Not everyone knows, Naruto-san." Hinata whispered and Naruto nodded sagely.

"Right of course. I'll be ninja-quiet."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh. She honestly doubted Naruto knew what that meant.

"Do you like being a ninja, Naruto-san?"

"I love it! Most of the times it's really cool. I've been sent on a lot of simple missions and I've been sent on missions that end up into a lot more than what was planned, which is cool." Naruto launched into the detailed and engaging story of Team 7's first A-ranked mission with Zabuza and Haku.

"Oh, that is so sad what happened to Haku, him never knowing how much Zabuza cared, Naruto-san."

"The mission was bitter-sweet, if you know what I mean."

"I do. I can't possibly imagine my life as a ninja, Naruto-san."

"Well, dressed like this, you'd be pretty stand out and that wouldn't be good–"

"Like you?" She looked pointedly at him.

Naruto looked down at his orange jumpsuit and nodded ashamedly that Hinata had caught him knee deep in irony. She smiled sweetly at him, so he felt a little less badly about it.

"Do you like being a Geisha, Hinata-chan?"

"Sometimes," I get to meet people like you, she said in her mind, wishing that she had the strength to say it to his face. "It's nice to know that I'm making someone happy and that I'm being appreciated, but it's not always easy. Sometimes I have nice clients, sometimes I have not so nice clients, but I'm supposed to treat them all with the same grace and attention, even if I don't want to." Hinata wanted to clamp her mouth shut. Something about Naruto made her feel comfortable enough to open up to him. She supposed that he had that way about him.

"I know what you mean. It's like you have to wear a mask all the time because people expect you to be who you claim to be."

Naruto knew that he wasn't the most eloquent, but he looked into Hinata's platinum coloured eyes with their swirls of lavender and he felt that they understood what each was saying.

"You know, Hinata-chan, you reminded me of someone just now. I always end up talking to him a lot over ramen, telling him things that I wouldn't tell everyone. He was my sensei. Hmm, last month was the first of my birthdays that he's missed in a while."

"Oh, it was your birthday last month?"

"Yeah, October 10th."

"That's just the day after you met me," Hinata said as she called over a maid and whispered something in her ear. "Mine is December 27th. Tell me more about this sensei of yours."

Naruto told Hinata of Iruka but nicknamed Iruka, Mr. Dolphin. He had just finished his story of how Iruka-sensei had saved him from Mizuki when the maid set down a bowl of steaming hot miso ramen in front of Naruto. Naruto looked up at Hinata who simply said that she remembered that he liked ramen. It took Naruto everything in him not to propose to Hinata right then and there. He looked into her big, platinum eyes framed by her dark hair done up in that elaborate hairstyle and realized that he couldn't do that for long without losing focus. If she kept that up together with the ramen he imagined that he'd lose every argument with her.

"Thank you Hinata-chan! You are the best Geisha ever!"

"Thank you, Naruto-san." Hinata said with such genuineness and emotion that you'd think Naruto had saved her from a pack of rabid wolves. "It's the best in Kumo. I hope that you like it."

Suddenly Hinata noticed a shadow over her and looked up to see Nayako standing over her.

"Hinata-chan, may I speak to you for a moment in private?"

"Of course you may. Please excuse me, Naruto-san."

Naruto waved Hinata off distractedly as he slurped his noodles and Hinata smiled. She wondered how many of those bowls he could eat. She followed Nayako into the corridor and turned down another corridor until Nayako stopped and turned to face her.

"Do you mind telling me why you are giving Jiraiya-sama's young apprentice your sole attention?"

"Umm..."

"Speak up, Hinata, I cannot hear you."

"I like him."

"Ah, I see. You like him. Why?"

"I like him because...because...he's nice and sweet and innocent and...and...and he's not boring."

"Never boring? Neither is dipping your hand in boiling water or eating crushed glass, but that doesn't make either of those things sound like a good idea. The idea that being a spontaneous and loudmouthed idiot is inherently fascinating is one of those erroneous beliefs that I'd like to see disappear."

"But –" the slap came so quickly that Hinata, even if she had the Sharingan, might not have seen it coming. It stung so much that Hinata wondered if some of the skin from her face had fallen off. And despite that slap, as soon as Hinata turned her head again she received another rapid fire hit. It was so quick later Hinata would later wonder whether she had gotten two slaps that had run into each other or whether it was just one long and lingering slap. Hinata was stunned speechless which was exactly what Nayako wanted.

"Don't interrupt me, child!" Nayako hissed through clenched teeth. Nayako stared at Hinata's quivering lips and her smudged make-up that had shifted and was now revealing the redness of the welt under and felt pity for the girl. She sighed heavily and took Hinata gently by the hand as she led her to the toilets. Nayako pulled the girl along, for she seemed in a daze (understandable, seeing as how Hinata was still unsure whether she had received two slaps or one) and stood her so that they were standing abreast of each other as they faced the mirror over the small concrete sink.

"Hinata, look at me." Nayako gently commanded, but Hinata's eyes were trained on her hands which were doing their strange tapping thing again, Nayako noted. She doubted that the girl even realised that she was doing that with her fingers. "Hinata," This time Nayako gently lifted the girl's chin so that Hinata would be forced to look at her geisha sister's reflection. Hinata strangely thought that Nayako looked like an angel just then with her head tilted a bit to the side and with a small smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. Hinata thought that Nayako looked like an angel of death with her white make-up and stretched red lips.

"Yes, Nayako-san?"

"Hinata, you are a Geisha and your duty is to entertain men. You are an artist and an erudite female companion. You are to provide these men with intellectual fantasy. You are to tease them with your beauty and grace. You are to enrapture them with your skill and wit. You are a different type of woman. You give form to every thought, reality to every dream that they can never attain, but constantly aspire to. A man should come to a teahouse to hear a little music, listen to a little poetry, see a beautiful dance and be in the company of beautiful women every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. You are the beauty that these men come to see. And that's one side of why you are here.

"The other side is that you need to eat. You are in debt, Hinata. You owe the _okiya_ for saving you from the clutches of hunger. Do you know that we could let you starve in the streets? Do you know that your obi could be tied in the front so that it would be easier for you to untie it when men want access to your body on a nightly basis? That kimono that you're wearing, do you think it's cheap? Your lessons in the arts, do you think that's free as well? Well, they're not. You owe us, Hinata, and falling in love with useless ninja like Naruto is time-wasting and worst of all, money-wasting. You are a Geisha, Hinata; you have no room for love. You will continue to speak to Naruto; we are not rude, but I want you to focus your attentions on the more powerful ninja that can be of importance to you. Powerful ninja like Jiraiya-sama can be of use to you because they are powerful and power follows power. I want you to focus on the powerful and rich ninja that come from powerful and rich families. I want you to focus on the successful businessmen and high-ranked nobles. I do not want you to focus on Naruto. That little runt will never achieve anything and will reach nowhere. Never mind that he is Jiraiya-sama's apprentice, not all seeds will bear fruit. If he does turn out to be the most successful and powerful ninja to ever live, then you may reconsider; but for now you must set your sights higher. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Hinata nodded numbly. Interestingly enough, she was thinking to tell Naruto that the lives of the Geisha and of the ninja were striking with their similarities sometimes. In both professions a certain degree of coldness and hardness of the heart is needed. And then her mind flipped to Sasuke. Hinata was almost positive that Sasuke had coldness and hardness of heart. He had bitterness eating away at him like a cancer, leaving his eyes black with consumed sourness. Did Hinata have that hardness of heart that was necessary to be a Geisha or even a ninja? She doubted it. Was it necessary to be cold? Not if Naruto had anything to say about it. But Hinata was not stupid. Hinata may have been painting pictures of fantasy for the men that she entertained, but as a Geisha, she was always supposed to be rooted firmly in reality. She was never to get lost in the dream.

Nayako wiped her hands clean of Hinata's white make-up that had stained her hand after the confusion-inducing slap she gave to Hinata. She left the toilet briefly and returned quickly with some make-up. She evened out the white make-up and re-painted Hinata's red lips. She darkened Hinata's eyebrows and eyelashes with more kajol so that the girl's pale eyes could shine through more and captivate more hearts. Soon Hinata was back to looking like the enticing, but shy Geisha that she was known for being.

When Hinata re-emerged in the great banquet hall a bit later, Naruto couldn't help but notice that she was acting differently. She smiled politely at him and poured him tea, but unlike before when she had studiously and politely ignored the attentions of the businessman to her left, she now seemed incapable of turning her neck to the right. Naruto wondered whether she had developed a sudden crink in her neck or whether she was ignoring him. He really didn't want to wish Hinata pain, but he couldn't handle the pain that she was ignoring him, so he sincerely hoped that she had a stiff neck. Other Geisha spoke to him and he responded kindly, but their falseness kept coming through the veneer of their painted faces. He looked over at Nayako who as usual was laughing hysterically at some idiot comment that no doubt Jiraiya had said, but he could see that despite the calculated and over-the-top laugh/bray, Nayako was keeping a watch on Hinata. Naruto wondered what exactly happened when the two Geisha disappeared for a few minutes.

When it was time to leave Nayako and Hinata walked Jiraiya and Naruto to the front door of the teahouse. Jiraiya was drunk, so Naruto had that to look forward to on their trip to the inn at which they were staying. Jiraiya was busy telling Nayako a bawdy joke about a rooster and a cat falling into a river, so Naruto seized the opportunity to speak to Hinata.

"Are you alright?" He asked and remembered fondly that those were the first words she had ever spoken to him.

"I am fine, Naruto-san. Thank you for asking." She smiled serenely but she lacked the motivation necessary to make it seem real. Naruto looked at her and noticed that Hinata had a vacant sort of sadness to her. Her eyes were still a bit red, so he asked quietly,

"Have you been crying, Hinata-chan?"

"What?"

"Your eyes look a bit red and puffy. When someone has been crying the right thing to do is comfort them, no?" He smiled a bit to see whether that would coax her into a grin. He got nothing.

"If someone is trying to hide their tears, wouldn't the right thing to do would be to pretend that you don't see them?"

Naruto pondered on that for a moment. He wanted to tell Hinata that too many times people had ignored his tears, so he could never simply ignore someone if they were crying, but he didn't get the opportunity to do so since Jiraiya had finished telling his joke and of course Nayako was laughing like a senile old bat, but Naruto could tell that her eyes were on him. Jiraiya stepped outside and Naruto knew that he had to follow. Quickly and surreptitiously he pulled something small and dark from inside the jacket of his jumpsuit.

"Hinata-chan, I had this for you. My birthday was last month and I know that the birthday person usually gets gifts and not gives gifts, but I saw this and..." He trailed off, a bit unsure of how to explain why this specific gift made him think of Hinata. "I wasn't sure that you'd like it since I thought that you were blind but you're not _that _blind, so after tonight I realize that you might like it even if you have to squint. You have a great sense of humour and you're really nice. Besides, you look like you could do with a laugh." Naruto realized that he was rambling and quickly shoved the item into Hinata's hands without any ceremony and stepped outside after Jiraiya. With Nayako's back turned to her, Hinata unravelled her gift. It was a small, black tee-shirt. She squinted and held the tee-shirt close to read what the white lettering on it said, which was,

'Ninjas Do It In The Dark'

All Naruto saw when he turned around to wave goodbye was Hinata's white face breaking into a face-splitting grin, her eyes closed shut and her blush threatening to come through her caked-on make-up and that was exactly what he wanted.

"So, you had fun? I see you've really fallen for that blind maiko." Jiraiya said as he swayed a bit, his face flushed, his breath stink with sake.

"I haven't fallen for anyone!" Naruto said defensively and in a tone of voice that made Jiraiya laugh.

"Uh huh, kid."

"And she's not blind."

"I know. She's not a lot of things…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Leave her alone, kid."

"She's not happy. I think that Nayako said something to her. I think that Nayako told her not to talk to me too much."

"Listen kid, you can't save this one."

"What? And why not?"

Jiraiya sighed and stopped to face Naruto.

"Naruto, you don't have anything to offer Hinata. She's in debt up to her ears for being a Geisha. She needs to pay back that debt. This isn't one of those cases where you can use your Talk no Justu and make everything alright by changing hundreds of years of tradition. For her to get out of that debt she's going to have to keep on entertaining men, build up her reputation until she gets a _danna_ who'll help her pay off her debts. She needs someone with money or someone who's powerful and is close enough to at least someone with connection to money. You are neither of those people, kid. Sorry, but your girlfriend is not yours and can never be yours. Even if she was in a different lifetime from you, she could never be yours. Some things you just have to let be."

"She's not my girlfriend." Naruto said dejectedly, unsure of what else to say. He didn't agree with his sensei. There were some things you could change, though he didn't always believe what he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

Hanabi Hyuuga hated to lose. It was a recent personal revelation to her after her defeat at the hands of her cousin Neji Hyuuga during the Chuunin exams. She was no longer warded at the hospital, but was now back home at the Hyuuga manor. The Gentle Fist style of fighting was not showy and dealt damage mostly to internal organs and the chakra network, so Hanabi's wounds were not about to shock and awe anyone with their graphic description of violence or anything of the sort. As it were, she simply looked like she had been stung by a few hornets with fading red and blue spots on her body, but of course it hurt a lot more than that - a hit from a Byakugan wielder feels like someone is ripping apart your skin, tendons and chakra channels. And of course she had a lot more wounds that were not visible and would take a lot longer to heal. She was the sole heir to the Hyuuga clan of the Byakugan. She was the youngest person to become a genin since Kakashi Hatake and she was the only female to do that. Hanabi Hyuuga was nine years old and she was entered into the Chuunin exams under her sensei, Kurenai and with her teammates Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. She was the best and everyone expected her to make Chuunin, yet things did not go as planned.

When Hanabi saw that she had to fight her cousin, Neji, she thought that that computer was on bull; there was no way that her match was random. Neji was her cousin, but to be honest she didn't know much about him except that his father was dead and that every time he looked at her he looked at her with naked hatred. She suspected that he didn't like her.

"I did not think that I would be fighting you, Hanabi-sama." Neji said as both he and his cousin stepped up to the centre of the wide room to fight each other in the tower located in the Forest of Death.

"Neji nii-san, I did not think that I would be fighting you either."

"Please begin the match." Genma said and Hanabi was slightly surprised that the man had not passed out from that strenuous speech. Genma looked like he was on his last breath. However, Hanabi's thoughts on Genma's imminent death were soon interrupted by Neji.

"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hanabi-sama. Give up, because you will lose."

Hanabi almost turned around to see if Neji was talking to someone else because he could never be talking to her.

"What?"

"I said that you should give up. Granted that you are a member of the Main house and I am a Branch member and also granted that you are one of the youngest Genin since the long ago days of Kakashi-sensei –" Somewhere Kakashi was muttering that he wasn't that old, "– but I will defeat you."

There was a silence that followed. It was the 'yes, you heard correctly; take a moment to think that over and let those that are watching comment on that statement' silence. Hanabi looked at Neji and was almost positive now that he didn't like her. But her overriding thought was of course that Neji was insane. It was obvious that she was better than him. She looked at Neji and thought that he didn't look like someone that would monologue; that was for those Sound nin. But then she supposed that she really didn't know much about Neji to begin with. Hanabi was not one to waste precious time with unnecessary talk, so she politely ignored Neji's psychological bait and lapsed into the Gentle Fist fighting style. She slid her left foot forward and extended her left hand with her palm facing outward, while she pushed back her right leg, bending it slightly and turning her foot thirty degrees to the right. Her right arm was pulled back and bent at the elbow, palm facing outward.

"Byakugan." She muttered as she saw Neji mimic her style.

Things started to go wrong almost from the beginning. His violence caught her by surprise. His hits were faster and more vicious than she expected forcing her to be more on the defensive and when she finally had an opening for a hit, he proved too nimble and she missed the shot. Hanabi realized with startling clarity that she was going to lose.

Hanabi pulled back in an attempt to put some distance between her and Neji and in an effort to re-evaluate her strategy, but Neji was relentless. He realized that she was on the defensive and gave her no opportunity to break her position. With terrifying speed he slapped Hanabi on her arms and on the side of her face; a hit that was meant for her neck, but she raised her head up just in time to avoid having her jugular sliced by chakra and ending up in acute cardiac arrest because of the lack of oxygen going to her heart from her brain. He was trying to kill her! If his hit had succeeded she would have lapsed into cardiac arrest and been dead in a minute. But just because he missed his intended target didn't mean that Neji's hit was inconsequential. Hanabi couldn't feel the right side of her face. She had no idea that her mouth was drooping a bit to the right and that her right eye was closing down a bit. She looked like she had a mild stroke. But that was nothing because what really concerned her was that Neji had nicked the chakra network of veins that snaked around her eyes and fed her Byakugan ability. It was just a nick, but it was enough for her to see a bit blurred in that eye. Hanabi realized much too late that she completely misjudged Neji's ability. She jumped back, giving a distance of three jumps between them, a distance of thirty feet.

"You have underestimated me, Hanabi-sama. You considered me as someone of no importance, no Hanabi-sama? You have viewed me as a lowly Branch member, no Hanabi-sama?"

Hanabi looked at Neji and refused to get caught in his useless harangue. She was not one to waste time with unnecessary talk. Neji could monologue all day if he wanted; Hanabi came to fight. She moved quickly. She was fast and it was one of the things that she was known for. Neji had time to realize that she was coming towards him, but he just about had time to register that she was aiming a hit at his heart. He just barely sidestepped and the lash ended up hitting the other side of his chest. It missed his heart, but it hurt like he just got jump-kicked in the chest with lightening, feeling like his chest was being shredded apart with fire. Now he was on the defensive. But Hanabi was off kilter because of Neji's initial winning and it showed in her performance. She was known for her deadly precision, but she was losing it. Her aims were always just off the target and Neji capitalized on Hanabi's vulnerability. He blocked a series of her shots while simultaneously hitting her with chakra in her tenketsu every time she aimed at him. In a move that surprised her, he grabbed her left hand and rolled up the sleeves. Hanabi paused and her eyes opened wide in alarm when she saw the red polka dot marks on her left arm. Neji had stopped the flow of chakra in her left arm and she hadn't even had the chance to notice! Capitalizing on her shock, Neji slammed his palm into his cousin's chest sending her flying ten feet backwards.

Hanabi was disoriented. For a few seconds she could not move. She was feeling nauseous and there was pain shooting up and down her left arm and she was having trouble breathing. He had given her a heart attack! Dimly she heard Neji going on about how she underestimated him because she devalued the Branch members and that her arrogance is what had her in her current position. He was talking some nonsense about how it was her destiny to be in this position because of her dismissive conceit and blah blah blah. She had to get up if only to get Neji to shut up. With one last surge of energy she threw herself up, feeling dizzy and almost collapsing as the pain in her chest took her breath away and she coughed up blood. The blood was from the hit that had managed to hit her left lung as well. As if in a distant dream she heard someone chastising Neji for "taking advantage of a nine year old girl." It was Naruto of all people. She couldn't remember ever even speaking to him. Why on earth would he be championing her? She was no underdog.

"The unfortunate thing is that despite your defeat at my hands, Hanabi-sama, you will continue on in your arrogantly dismissive way. Even with your Main House Byakugan, you are blind. I suppose that that is because people cannot change."

Hanabi struggled to her feet and was amazed that she was still alive. There were waves of pain radiating from her chest of the likes that she had never felt before. She felt like she was using less oxygen than everyone else, but every breath she took made the pain in her chest more excruciating. There was a dull and throbbing pain in her left hand and of course she couldn't feel the right side of her face. She coughed up blood again. When she coughed she felt like she was going to throw up her entire rib cage; it was that painful.

"Neki-nii-sthan?" She garbled and she realized that she could hardly speak because of the numbness of the right side of her face. She tried again. "Ne-ji. Nii. San." She sounded out every word.

He looked up questioningly.

"Shut. Up."

She saw him racing towards her with killing intent marring his beautiful white eyes and if Hanabi could have smirked at that moment she would have. She saw the Jounin stop him and then she passed out unhappily for she had lost.

That was about four months ago and Hanabi had spent most of the time convalescing at home. She wasn't as bad as Lee and she also did not get his kind of sympathy probably because he was in danger of losing his career as a ninja, but more so because Hanabi was not the most likeable person and she knew it. She was mostly quiet, only speaking when she felt it more than necessary. But that wasn't to say that she was shy. No, Hanabi radiated confidence and capability and usually let her skills do the talking for her. This should have meant that she would have gotten on well with her man-of-few-words teammate, Shino, but it was not the case as Shino found her unnecessarily indifferent to the importance of her teammates. And she definitely did not get along with her cocky other teammate, Kiba, who was annoyed by her quiet overconfidence. They visited her only once during her convalescence and then they stayed for three minutes and twenty-four seconds before they begged off lying about something or the other that they had to do. Kurenai stopped only long enough to ask after Hanabi's health and let it be known through her unsaid words and pointed looks that Hanabi had only herself to blame for her current predicament. Her father did not say much either, except that she could probably start back training in about four months.

Almost six months had passed and she was training again. She went on small missions with her teammates, she came home and trained again. Nothing much had changed as far as Hanabi was concerned, but her father apparently thought differently.

"Your hits are getting sloppy. Your aim is off. You've been distracted ever since you returned to duty." Hiashi said to his daughter one morning. It was more than five months after the Chuunin exams. Sasuke had left the village months now and Naruto had gone on his training with the Sannin about a couple weeks after that. The Hyuuga compound was quiet as most of the maids and other clan members had yet to wake. Hiashi had found his daughter training in the dark hours of 4 o'clock in the morning, her Byakugan activated with the veins around her eyes raised like vicious vipers. When she heard his voice Hanabi deactivated her Byakugan and bowed deeply. Hiashi stood on the veranda and looked at his tiny ten year old daughter. She had celebrated her tenth birthday in the hospital.

"Neji is a changed man because of his defeat at the hands of that obnoxious, blond boy at the final of the Chuunin exams."

Oh he's changed alright, Hanabi thought idly of the dental surgery Neji had to get after Naruto broke his jaw with that upper-cut, but she said nothing, instead only rising from her bow, but keeping her eyes trained respectfully on the ground.

"The boy convinced him to look at things differently in terms of the way that he views this clan and his life in general. Neji tried to show the blond brat that fate cannot be fought and that someone who is weak will always remain weak, but the child was unwilling to accept this mindset, arguing that Neji, for all his belief in fate, had not accepted his own destiny. The brat suggested that if a failure like himself could change his destiny, then a genius like Neji could too."

Hanabi again did not respond. She had heard this story already and her father knew she had.

"I know that you're mad that you lost," Hiashi said and Hanabi assumed that when he said 'mad' he meant 'unreasonably vindictive'. "But you should not let your mind be troubled with what you should have done or should not have done."

Hanabi said nothing, but her father already knew what she was thinking.

"I know that you are thinking that I of all people should not talk."

Hanabi wondered whether she really needed to be here for the conversation since her father seemed so adept at anticipating her every sentence. Surprisingly he missed that cynical thought, though whether it was accidentally or selectively intentionally she would never know.

"You should not be discouraged by your failure. Every failure points out to us the shortcomings or the errors that we make that we should now choose to carefully avoid."

That would explain a lot about her father's actions towards her, Hanabi thought. Suddenly, because of her upcoming mission, she had a curious desire to know her father's version of what happened to her sister and mother overtook her. It was so strange to want to know all of a sudden. She had never had the inkling before. She had heard the briefest of what happened from bits and pieces of overhearing the maids talking, but otherwise it seemed almost a taboo topic.

"What really happened to Okaa-san and Hinata nee-san?"

Hiashi was taken aback by the question but he supposed that it had to come at some point in time. With resignation he decided to tell her.

"Your sister was only five years old when she was kidnapped. You were just a babes in arms at four months old. She was kidnapped by Kumo nin, who wanted the Byakugan eyes. She was on her way to the academy when they kidnapped her. It was to be her first day of school and she was scared. I wanted to send her off to school myself, but your mother said that I was spoiling her which was true. I was spoiling her, probably to make up for the fact that I was so hard on her with her training. She was so shy. She was always very timid around people. But nevertheless I acquiesced to your mother's wishes and I did not see Hinata off to school that day. I let one of the maids drop her off instead.

"After the end of another conflict between Kumogakure and Konohagakure, the villages decided to formally end the constant fighting. A Head Ninja was sent to Konoha to sign a peace treaty. I'm not sure whether he came here with the intention of kidnapping Hinata or whether he capitalized on a presented opportunity. Nevertheless, it was almost too easy to kidnap Hinata that day."

Hanabi said nothing, only listening intently. Hiashi spoke, but his mind was not here. He seemed to be reliving those days.

"It was easy to track the Kumo ninja, but he was fast and he had a headstart on me, but I caught up to him easily in Kumo. I had my rage and my fear propelling me. I ran non-stop for three days until I finally caught up with him in the mountain areas of Kumo. When I saw him with Hinata tied up and looking like she was about to pass out from exhaustion and fear I...I killed him." His voice had only a slight tremor, but his face was impassive.

"We were still deep in Kumo's mountainous forests. Hinata needed medical attention. She was weak. We were both very weak, but her chakra was very low, but I couldn't trust to get her medical attention in Kumo while her eyes were so exposed. I placed a seal on her –"

"You placed the Caged Bird Seal on her!"

"No. I placed another seal on her that suppressed her Byakugan but the effect of it was that it would alter her vision, gradually getting worse until she would eventually go blind and she would lose the Byakugan forever."

"What! Why on earth would you do something like that...Father?" Hanabi added, belatedly remembering her manners.

"Her eyes needed to be protected while we were both vulnerable in enemy territory. I could never put the Caged Bird Seal on my daughter, the eldest member of the Main Hyuuga clan. You know that the Caged Bird Seal can only be removed upon death. I did what I had to do for Hinata's safety and for the safety of the clan. And besides, the seal was only to last until we reached the relative safety of Konoha."

"Oh, so the seal was temporary?"

"The seal lasts and strengthens as time goes on. It would take years; probably about ten to twelve years for the seal to complete suppress the Byakugan and render the sealed completely blind. Despite its temporary nature she would be rendered useless by enemy ninja because she would not be able to activate her Byakugan or even see properly for that matter. I am the only person capable of removing that seal because only I know seals necessary to deactivate the seals."

Hanabi looked at her father as if seeing him differently for the first time. It was dark but the whiteness of his eyes almost glowed dangerously and she was reminded of seeing an animal in the bushes once – a lurking and dangerous beast. She knew her father was skilled and dangerous, but she had no idea that he was _that_ skilled and dangerous.

"Kumo is a funny place. It's located in the Land of Lightning. Rain always falls there. The place resembles varying shades of grey and the weather is something that their residents could talk about for hours on end. When the rain started pouring down I was not surprised. The weather had been looking miserable from the moment I had entered Kumo. The sky was black and the winds were fierce. I should have taken more notice of the weather, but I didn't; my mind was focused on retrieving Hinata. When the rain started to fall and cause flash flooding, Hinata started to panic – she didn't like large bodies of water."

So nee-san did not like people or water, Hanabi thought; maybe Hinata was on the wrong planet.

"The winds were ripping apart trees and causing landslides in the mountainous forests. Landslides are similar to avalanches in the sense that anything could trigger them and they can materialize without warning. It took us by surprise. The soil suddenly came looser, the trees that I was using to shelter easily slipping in the melting mud like butter in a hot pan. My footing slipped when the earth shifted like that and Hinata and I came tumbling down into the path of the landslide, going wherever the earth wanted us to. We tumbled off a precipice and landed into a swollen and raging river. My grip on her separated. I saw when she hit her head on the rock. I saw when she went under. In the strong current of the river I couldn't reach her. I saw her die, but I was too far away to do anything. The current of the river..."

Hiashi's eyes were burning. Hanabi suddenly wished that he would tell her no more, but he continued.

"I practically dragged the river with my Byakugan to find her, but I couldn't. I returned home distraught and ashamed to tell your mother that I had failed. To add insult to injury, Kumo demanded payment for the ninja that I killed. The elders decided that it would be best if Hizashi was sacrificed instead. When I tried to refuse, Hizashi disabled me with a single blow. He then explained that he was not doing this to preserve the Hyuuga's structure, but to protect my life, to prevent war, and to choose his own fate for the first time in his life. Before going to his death, Hizashi asked me to tell Neji of his reason for his decision, regretting that he had shown Neji his bitterness in life. I mistakenly took too long to let Neji know the reason behind his father's death. I suppose I was waiting for him to be more receptive. I suppose another reason that I was absent-minded with my nephew was that your mother was hobbled by the grief of your sister's death and had recently committed suicide."

"I have a lot of regrets, Hanabi. I should have been a better ninja, a better father, a better husband. You have suffered because of my inability to come to terms with my failures."

Hanabi didn't particularly see herself as 'suffering', but she had no intention of correcting her father.

"I have trained you harder, to be more skilled for your age as an attempt to make you more than capable so that you'd be a strong leader for the clan. I have stressed the importance of confidence and skill and now you are arrogant and dismissive, even to your own family and teammates. In an attempt to keep myself from further being hurt I have been somewhat cold towards you, now you are cold to the point of being heartless. Your mother's selfish suicide has impacted you even though you were just a baby and now you are selfish and inconsiderate. I was glad that you were defeated by Neji. I was hoping that you would have learnt something from your defeat."

Maybe I need a good hit to the head from Naruto the way Neji got it, Hanabi coldly thought. Hanabi was looking at his daughter and could not tell what she was thinking. Her mind was blank and most likely her heart was too.

"I am speaking to you because old fears have risen within me to torment me again as you have this mission to Kumo. I know that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself, but I thought that you should know that I regret the way that things turned out between us."

"You do not have to worry about me, Father. I am fine. I am very fine." Hanabi attempted a smile but it did not come out quite right. Hiashi noted a lost cause when he saw one. He had failed Hinata and now he had failed Hanabi too.

"Good luck on your mission to Kumo." He said and strode off into the house leaving Hanabi alone in the training grounds surrounded by darkness.

Hanabi sighed. She was similar to her father in many respects – skilled and for the most part in charge of her emotions. But she did not want to end up like him, filled with regrets about the loss of loved ones. She was happy that he had kept her at an emotional distance all these years. She was glad that she had no mother or sister to care about. Those things just got in the way of her duty of being a ninja. Isn't that what they taught at the Academy, that a ninja's emotions should always take a backseat to the mission at hand? She was glad that she had no mother or elder sister. The truth was that she didn't care about anyone and she couldn't bring herself to care about anyone. Family only served to complicate things and she had a mission to go on in Kumo. Hanabi had no time to think about family that died a million years ago in a river in Kumo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**It was getting more and more difficult for Hinata to get around. Her eyesight was diminishing at an alarming rate and every night now all Hinata prayed for was not to be totally blind by the time she turned fifteen.

It was a few minutes to ten on a Friday morning and Kumo was bustling with life as usual. There were always people out and about on Kumo's streets. Hinata was convinced that there were more people than ants and right now they were getting in her way and being just as annoying as if she were to find ants in her sugar. She was going to be late for her lessons. She struggled up the winding stone steps that led to Park Street, toting her shamisen case in her left hand feeling with her right hand the wall to her side. She had to slow down considerably and ensure the carefulness of her step since one stair looked more like two with the result being that she slowed down the pedestrian traffic behind her. Those that grew frustrated at her crawl up the steps attempted to overtake, but caused more congestion for those people who were coming down on the other side of the stairs. Hinata was busy keeping up a stream of profuse and emphatic "I'm so sorry" and "Please forgive my slowness" to the irritable passers-by or rather the more aptly named trying-to-pass-her-by. She had almost reached the top when in her haste to escape the narrow and congested stairway she tripped up the stairs and was about to land painfully hard on her knees when someone caught her.

"Don't worry, I got cha."

Hinata would know that voice anywhere. It was her Mr. Sunshine – Naruto-san!

"Naruto-san,"

Naruto wasn't sure why he was blushing. He supposed it had something to do with the way she had breathed out his name. He knew that she said it like that because she was probably breathless from walking up the one hundred stone steps, but the way her breath hitched when she said his name gave Naruto such a jolt that he felt he had a newfound appreciation for the Land of Lightning.

It had been a little over three months since Naruto had last seen Hinata and he almost didn't recognize her. For one thing it was the first time that he was seeing her in this light of day. The other reason was that she was out of her Geisha finery. Her hair was still done up in the elaborate _Wareshinobu_ hairstyle of a maiko, but it was not adorned with any of her hair combs or accessories. Her kimono was not as elaborate with its usual floor-length flowing sleeves; it also wasn't as long, only reaching up to her ankles. Instead she wore a white kimono with a maroon border embellished with silver embroidery and with little hints of glitter studded sporadically across the outfit. Her obi was a rich black with silver lacquered threads running filigree around it. She also did not wear her traditional seven-inch high _okobo,_ wooden sandals, that Geisha wear while out in the streets, but rather she had on simple lacquered _geta_ platform slippers with thong straps, hers were red straps, her toes hidden away in her white _tabi_. But it was her face that caught Naruto's attention. This was the first time that he was seeing Hinata without her make-up and he thought that she looked stunning. Her face had a sort of peaches and cream look going on what with her almost supernaturally fair skin and the flush in her face from trying to run up one hundred steps while toting her heavy shamisen.

While Naruto had thought her complexion delicate and stunning, Hinata felt as if she had just gotten hit with a piece of fried chicken leaving her greasy and red in the face. She imagined that the glare from her face to be so blinding that poor Naruto had to avert his eyes. The embarrassment of this caused Hinata to avert her eyes from _him _in what Naruto mistook for her adorable timidity.

After receiving a few more mumbles and grumbles from pedestrians and after Naruto gave them a loud piece of his mind, he realized that the landing at the top of a staircase was a poor positioning choice and he gently led Hinata away from the busy staircase. They walked over to the railings on the left that prevented people from falling to their deaths into the thick mountain foliage. Kumo, being a village situated on a mountain range, allowed for many picturesque views of towering mountaintops thick with the greens of the forests and woods and scattered intermittently with craggy rocks. The scenic views lasted only for moments because as soon as the view appeared it disappeared with the rolling of the clouds – understandable really, since this was the Village Hidden in the Clouds. A Kumogakure resident was no doubt fit because of having to traverse the many winding roads and tunnels carved out of the mountain and from climbing hundreds of steps and staircases that led to different levels of the mountaintop village. As Naruto looked over the railed precipice he thought that the wispy, whitish-grey clouds reminded him of something, but he couldn't figure out what. He turned to Hinata.

"Hinata-chan, I almost didn't recognize you without all the make-up!"

Hinata's eyebrows shot in the air at Naruto's unintentional jab.

"No-no-no-no. I meant that you usually wear so much make-up and you look so pretty then – I mean, not that you don't look pretty now, it's just that you look plainer – I mean, simpler, but in a good way – not that you look over-done when you wear your make-up or anything..." He trailed off uncertainly and scratched the back of his head as he let out a nervous laugh, all the while wondering whether he could get some soy sauce for the foot that he had in his mouth.

"Thank you for thinking me pretty, Naruto-san." Hinata diplomatically replied and Naruto marvelled that Hinata had selective hearing to add to her other disability of being legally blind. Hinata only shook her head in amused exasperation and relief that Naruto had not changed a bit in the three months that she had last seen him. He was taller now, even when she had on her two-inch high geta, but he was still the goofy, knucklehead ninja with the sunny disposition. She had a feeling that when he removed his headband affable dork would just come tumbling out, and she meant that as a compliment.

"So, where ya headed?"

"Oh, I was on my way to class."

"What classes do you take?"

"My ordinary schooling stopped when I was twelve and became a Geisha, but I still have to take classes in the Geisha arts." She nodded to the shamisen.

"Ah, school," Naruto smiled wistfully. "How I do _not_ miss that!" He proclaimed and Hinata smiled at his silliness. "I used to cut classes back in the day." Back in the day being two years ago, Hinata thought with a smile. "You ever cut classes?"

Hinata shook her head and looked down in shame when Naruto gave her an eyebrow pop of disbelief. She didn't want him to think that she was dull.

"Well that's great. You're better than me. You're probably one of their best students, aren't you? You're probably a bit ahead of the class anyway." Hinata nodded in agreement. She was ahead of her dance and shamisen class that she had today. "I was always a bit of a lagger."

"Well, they'd never expect me to break class."

"Hmm. If you're not in class they'd probably just assume that you were sick, huh? Well, that's good. Nayako's taught you to be a good girl. Where is she by the way?"

"Oh she's on an outing. She's gone for the day."

Hinata heard Naruto utter a soft, yet thoroughly mischievous chuckle. It was almost an animalistic growl, but full of impish slyness. She couldn't believe that Naruto, her Mr. Sunshine, had verbally ensnared her into admitting all the reasons why she should cut class today. And then he cemented it with,

"It's been almost three months since I've last seen you. Too bad I didn't get to spend much time with you last time."

Hinata didn't know what to say. She had to give Naruto his props. He truly was a ninja – sly, crafty, yet amusingly mischievous. She should have known what to expect from him. He had told her about the mischief that he got into and how his sensei, Mr. Dolphin, had to bail him out. Naruto reminded her of an animal, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"So, where are we headed?" Naruto asked with bubbling confidence. He already realized that she had made up her mind to skip classes and spend the day with him. She was wearing this shy smile that she was trying her best not to shine through, but failing miserably at it and a huge blush that spread across her cheeks. Naruto hoped that she wasn't going to faint again. The humidity always seemed to affect her.

"Maybe you could show me around – I mean –" Goodness! 'Show me around!' Naruto lamented his insensitive choice of words. If he kept putting his foot in his mouth he'd soon become a paraplegic.

"It's okay, Naruto-san. Would you like to go get some ramen?"

"I'd love to!" He yelled in a voice loud enough to create a sonic boom. He offered his left arm to Hinata and she took it, feeling faint from the sudden rush of blood to her head. She bent her head low in an attempt to hide from him the face-splitting grin she was wearing. They took off slowly heading north towards the ramen stand.

Boy could Hinata eat! That was the thought running through Naruto's head as he and Hinata walked down a side street. She had innocently challenged him to a ramen eating contest, well not so innocently, now that he thought about it. He couldn't make further after his seventh bowl, but for such a tiny girl Hinata smoked him. "Delicate flower my butt," he had told her and they both laughed at that. They were both now walking down a side street, misty clouds enshrouding them, as they tried to walk off multiple bowls of ramen and encroaching fatigue - the result of greed. They were exchanging stories; Naruto telling her about his tiring training (tiring for whom Hinata was unsure because Naruto seemed to have the energy of a thousand men while Jiraiya was passed out at the inn they were staying at in Kumo {Hinata of course did not know that Jiraiya was tired of Naruto nagging him with all sorts of excuses to go back to Kumo}) and Hinata telling him about her clients and some of the other Geisha at the okiya, all very discreetly of course with the use of substituted names.

"How is your search for Mr. B going?"

"It's going nowhere. We heard a rumour that he was in Kiri for a while, so that's where I was these last few months. But that turned out to be a false lead. It's probably for the best. I'm not anywhere near strong enough to face him." Hinata could not see his expression clearly, but she felt the aura of sadness that came over him.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish that I knew where he was or that I could find him for you."

"Ah well." Naruto said dismissively waving away the depressing topic and Hinata recognized that he did not want to talk about his best friend. He privately realized that this was the first time that he thought of Sakura since he entered Kumo last night. He realized guiltily that he now hardly ever thought of her when he was in the presence of Hinata. It didn't mean that he didn't love her still, right? "How's that sourpuss client of yours?" He asked, uncomfortably waving away his confusing thoughts on his friend with the pink hair.

"Oh, luckily I haven't seen him in months."

"That's great!" Naruto sincerely hoped that Hinata's sourpuss client fell down a well or something, never to be found again. "I hope that I never cross him or I just might have to beat some sense into him for treating you badly."

"Beat some sense into him?" Hinata eyed him sceptically.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you haven't seen my Talk no Jutsu in action. With the right combination of words and blows, I can set you on a new life path." He ended in a tone that suggested, 'Look at me and be impressed."

"Really?" Hinata had a pinched up expression on her face from trying not to laugh.

"Uh huh. Let me tell you about a guy named Neji." Naruto was about to launch into how he had converted Neji's world view with a few choice words and one well-placed upper-cut when a big plop of water fell on his nose and then he saw the same thing happen to Hinata. He looked up to finally notice the gun-metal grey clouds that had just burst. Naruto took off in a speed for the nearest shelter, but then belatedly remembered after about five steps that he was walking with someone. Hinata could not run properly in those high _geta_ and was about to get soaked to the bone. The nearest shelter was under a shop awning about thirty feet away. He could make that in three jumps but Hinata would not. He did what he felt was necessary. He lifted her up bridal-style, shamisen and all. Hinata's face turned the colour of her white make-up that she usually wore and she felt her breath leave her body the same moment her heart stopped. When Naruto reached the awning of the shop he soon realized that Hinata had fainted in his arms. Damn this humid heat, he thought.

When Hinata woke she was sitting on a bench in a park, her vision resting on something large and blue in the distance and she realized that she was at Blue Lake Park. How long was she out for? The first thing she noticed however, was that the rain had stopped, leaving water drops on everything and that the misty fog of clouds had lifted a bit and she said as much out loud.

"When you say that the fog is lifting I hope you mean that literally and not that you're drifting in and out of coherence." Naruto joked next to her, making Hinata jump. She had to note that if she could wake up next to Naruto every time she'd be a very happy girl. Hinata smiled guiltily at that thought.

"I think the rain's stopped." Naruto said and for the first time Hinata realized that he was holding an umbrella over their heads. "I hope it's completely stopped," he said and poked his head out from under the umbrella to stare up at the sky, inadvertently tilting the umbrella and pouring water all over Hinata. He closed the umbrella and innocently turned to Hinata to see water rolling down her face; wearing an expression of bewildered amusement. Naruto could not believe that he just did that. He shouldn't be let out. He was a walking disaster. He was surprised that he hadn't accidentally hogtied her and shipped her off to Oto by now.

"It's okay, Naruto-san." Hinata giggled good-naturedly as she took a handkerchief from her kimono sleeves and wiped her face. Naruto let out an audible sigh of relief.

"You fainted." He said after a beat. "It must be the humidity, which is strange in itself since Kumo's usually quite cold. Either that or you have a very serious condition that you should attend to." Hinata doubted that a doctor could treat her for being lovesick. "You know, there are these goats that faint." He non sequitured, "They call them fainting goats."

"What an ambiguous name." Hinata muttered but Naruto heard her and chuckled appreciatively at her sarcasm.

"Nobody knows why they faint. Their limbs just go stiff and just like that they're down. You reminded me of them today."

Hinata didn't know what to say to that. Her spirit felt crushed. Naruto thought of goats when he thought of her. The only less romantic thought than that was probably trench foot.

"Eh ah...Hinata-chan...I don't want you to think that I forgot your birthday. I was really busy with training and I um...also I had a lot of things on my mind...I was thinking about you actually." Thinking about me and my striking similarity to goats, Hinata thought depressingly. "I noticed that last time you didn't seem that eager to talk to me after you had your talk with Nayako."

Hinata wanted to drop on the ground and dig a hole six feet deep with her bare hands, anything to get away from this conversation. She hoped and begged that he wouldn't ask her why she seemed unwilling to speak to him.

"I..." Naruto didn't know how to put into words the way her actions last time had hurt him. It was so strange that he could not draw on his Talk no Jutsu chakra and explain what he wanted to say in meaningful words.

"Naruto-san, I did not want to intentionally hurt you. You have told me how you had a rough childhood and how people repeatedly ignored you and dragged you down literally and psychologically. Believe me when I say, that the last thing that I wanted to do was to intentionally hurt you by ignoring you, but..."

"Nayako would prefer that you didn't spend most of your time with me." Naruto finished the sentence that Hinata could not. She looked away from him and out onto the big, blue blotch that represented the lake in her half-blind eyes. She didn't need to answer him; her silence gave him the answer.

"How did you become a Geisha? Why did you become a Geisha?" He asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"I was adopted. I am similar to you in the sense that all I know of my parents is that they are dead." Hinata took a deep breath, preparing herself to tell Naruto her story. "The _okiya_ adopted me. I worked as a maid in the _okiya_ up until the age of ten, when Auntie decided that I should learn the Geisha arts and I should apprentice under Nayako. The _okiya_ has five Geisha there, with Nayako being the most successful. I don't think that I'm cut out for Geisha work; I'm too shy and I don't flirt very well, but I definitely don't want to be a maid. I had no choice in becoming a Geisha." Her voice was soft and Naruto had to strain to hear her. "The _okiya_ is a business and I am their asset. They have invested a lot into making me a top asset and until I can repay them and bring in the profits for them, I have no say in my future. I have to use these apprenticeship years as time to establish my reputation with influential clients, so that when I debut as a full-fledged Geisha I will be on my way to easily breaking down my debt by finding a _danna_ who can support me and then I can seek my independence from the _okiya_."

"A _danna_, huh?"

"Yes. The mark of a successful geiko is to have a very successful _danna_ that can take care of you. Nayako has one, but I've never seen him. I get the impression that he's the right hand man of a very powerful ninja, like a Kage or something. He's not from this village."

"So you have to marry this _danna_ as the quickest way to get you out of debt and into independence?"

"Well, I won't be marrying him. Geisha can't marry, Naruto-san. As a matter-of-fact, it's best if they didn't fall in love. But as my _danna_ he will have certain...perks...that my other clients don't have."

There was a painfully awkward silence that followed. They noticed for the first time how close they were sitting next to each other. Naruto cleared his throat in a weak attempt to return to some semblance of not-awkward.

"So the key to you getting out of here is being the best Geisha ever so that you could get more money, more quickly to settle your debts?" Naruto simplified the situation. He didn't like that her job involved so many...men. He didn't like that she wasn't happy.

"You could say so. I don't have much of a choice in what I do."

"We always have a choice, Hinata-chan." He mumbled sombrely.

"My choices, Naruto-san are to be in debt to the _okiya_ or quit being a Geisha and live the life of a pauper on the streets. I can't run away or my reputation will be tarnished. I cannot disobey my Geisha sister or my reputation will be tarnished. I have nowhere to go."

"What happens if you can't pay off your debts to the _okiya_?"

"If they think that I won't be able to bring back in their investments, well...there are girls that look like Geisha, but they aren't. Their obi are tied at the front."

"So what if they're obis are tied at the front?"

"The obi would be easier to remove...it would be easier for the girl to remove it for her clients."

Naruto looked at Hinata's obi which was simple today – a simple sash of heavy silk tied in a _taiko musubi_ or drum knot behind her; unlike the ones she'd wear when entertaining. Those stretched from her waist all the way up to the centre of her chest. Those obi – the _maru obi_, were even heavier since they were made of silk brocade, brighter in colour and tied differently, in the _darari musubi_ style, so that they fell all the way down to her ankles, the knot of it rising almost all the way to the tops of her shoulder blades. He'd never seen a Geisha with her obi tied to the front. Why would a Geisha want her obi tied at the front?

It took Naruto a couple of seconds for her words to make sense to him. Prostitution! Naruto's head was spinning. He wondered whether he could convince Granny Tsunade to adopt the girl. Yeah, he could just see how _that_ conversation would go. He could almost hear the old bat stating that she did not have a save-the-children hotline. He couldn't take Hinata with him on his training – that would be simply too dangerous and taxing for her nor could he afford to keep her at the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to. And besides, to be honest, he did not have the time for girls right now anyway, right? Right? He felt like he needed to save this girl, but how? A shadow of sadness passed over him. He needed to fix his confidence back in place.

"Well then, it looks like I'll just have to save you from this life when I become Hokage!" He loudly proclaimed. "You'll just have to wait about five years. Can you wait that long? When do you think you'll have to get a danna?" Hinata was a bit taken aback by his sudden change in attitude and mood, but she understood his discomfort, so she responded gamely.

"In about five years."

Naruto's face blushed a bit. He was positive that this was the first time and the closest that Hinata got to flirting out-rightly with him, which was saying something since Naruto wouldn't know even the hardest and sexiest flirting if it were to hit him in the head with a brick wrapped in a G-string. Of course Hinata now looked like a tomato, but that was to be expected. At least she didn't faint, he thought gratefully. There was another awkward pause with both parties trying to get their pink faces under control.

"Would you like me to play something for you, Naruto-san?" Hinata asked in an attempt to refocus her mind on anything but her blushing face and thumping heart.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure! I've never heard you play. Wait a minute. I've been such a dolt! I can't believe I had you toting around that shamisen all day! No wonder you girls say chivalry is dead!"

"Not dead, just absent-minded." Naruto chuckled at her comment as Hinata pulled her shamisen out of the case. "But I'm quite capable Naruto-san, you don't need to worry about me." She tuned the instrument, her hands feeling fidgety while Naruto looked at her and smiled at her quite confidence. She didn't wear it all the time, but confidence looked good on her.

"What would you like to hear, Naruto-san?"

"Play me something from your heart. Play me something real."

Her hands were shaking. She was so nervous in front of Naruto. She wanted to impress him so badly! She wanted to show him that she was good at what she did and that she didn't need him to worry about her. In no time at all she'd be free from her debts. Maybe then she'd be free to be with him...

She started off in a tone that was soft, but flowing. The shamisen gave an overtone-rich buzzing twang that she highlighted even more with a steady, yet brisk and sharp strum of one the notes. The tune was melancholy and Naruto's mind ran on Sasuke. The music seemed to personify loneliness, the loneliness that Sasuke felt, the loneliness that he felt at Sasuke's leaving of Konoha. Suddenly the tempo rose to vivacious and lively. Naruto turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed and the forlorn tune disappeared within the sudden appearance of the vibrant melody. Naruto looked at Hinata and realized that he was sitting next to a gorgeous and talented Geisha who was playing something from her _heart_ for _him_ and here he was thinking about Sasuke. I'm either stupid or gay, he thought cynically. The music slowed gradually and just as gradually the intensity and tempo increased, swelling in pitch and emotion. Something inside Naruto stirred. He wasn't sure whether it was the Kyuubi or if Hinata had caused it. The emotions that were coming from her playing were raw. He felt what she was playing – her sadness, her joy, her anger, her attraction, her shyness, her fear, her frustration. Suddenly the intensity and depth of feeling in her playing dropped to a softer expression, ending very slowly, almost solemnly. When she opened her eyes Hinata knew Naruto was staring at her. She looked him back in his eyes. Her music was as close as she could get to telling him how he made her feel and all of the emotions that swelled inside of her.

"That was amazing, Hinata. I feel like...like I could understand what you felt when you played, you know." He almost whispered, rather uncharacteristically for him.

It was the first time that Naruto had called her by her name without any honourifics.

"Thank you...Naruto." She said in a bare whisper and Naruto noticed that the lavender in her eyes seemed to shift with a swirl in a brief reflection of the sunlight.

Something personal transpired between the two of them that afternoon like a complicated intimacy, something that could not have been said through words. Naruto was grateful that Hinata's music was able to say what he could not put into words and tell her himself or even admit to himself, while Hinata was grateful that she didn't have to say out loud what she felt.

It was nearly four o'clock and Hinata had to leave soon in order to get back home, complete her afternoon chores and then get dressed for later. Naruto walked her back to the top of the stairwell that he had met her that morning. Hinata refused to let him walk her to the _okiya_ in case someone saw her with him instead of coming back from her classes. She turned to go when Naruto stopped her.

"Oh wait, Hinata. I have something for you. I didn't forget your birthday, you know." Naruto removed from his jacket pocket a small rectangular box that was wrapped in cheesy birthday wrapping that would have been more suitable for the birthday gift to a six-year old boy. "Don't open it now. You could open it later when you're home."

Hinata blushed wondering if he had given her another double-entendre gift like the tee-shirt he gave her last time. She had never worn the tee-shirt because it could not fit over her head without ruining her hairstyle and also Naruto seriously underestimated the size of Hinata's bust, which was understandable since it was impossible to tell under her kimono. Nonetheless, she appreciated his slightly-perverted gift. Naruto seemed to know what she was thinking and vehemently said,

"I am not a pervert! I liked the tee-shirt, but it was Jiraiya-sensei that convinced me to buy it for you. But I hope that you did like it?"

"I did." She smiled as she saw him visibly relax. She couldn't wear it, but she did sleep with it every night. It smelled of him – of soap and freshly cut grass and rain.

"See ya later at the teahouse, Hinata. I had a great time with you today."

Hinata blushed furiously and Naruto hoped to God that she didn't pass out like those damn goats while going down the stairs. Stupid heat of Kumo.

It was only when Hinata had finished dressed and was on her way to the teahouse with Nayako that she realized that today she had had a date with Naruto. She just had a date with Naruto! And she would see him later tonight when he came with Jiraiya! Even if she couldn't speak to him much with Nayako around she was still going to see him later. Hinata was convinced that nothing could get her off the high that she was on. She was in a great mood and nothing could get her down. "Nothing could break this mood."Hinata whispered to herself in a perfect incantation to conjure up something to break her mood.

"Hinata-chan, Sasuke-san is here to see you." The mistress of the teahouse told Hinata as soon as she stepped inside. See, the incantation works! There went Hinata's good mood.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

Despite Nayako's stringent protestations, Hinata was no fool. Hinata stepped into the teahouse after Nayako and removed her shoes, her face a picture of angst and ennui, but her mind was reeling. The first time that she had met Sasuke-san was five minutes after Naruto had left. The time after that, Naruto came in just moments after Sasuke had left. Now tonight, Sasuke was here again after three months of his absence in conspicuous coincidence of Naruto also being in Kumo - strange since he had promised to see her in a month's time after their last meeting and Sasuke did not look like someone who reneged on his words. These were such strange coincidences! Something was odd about this situation. Plus, there was Nayako who seemed to have no problem with Hinata associating with Sasuke, whom Hinata was almost positive was a dangerous rogue ninja, yet Nayako refused to let Hinata spend much time with Naruto.

"Nayako-san?" Hinata timidly called, before her big sister stepped into the main banquet hall. Nayako stopped and turned around to look at her apprentice. Hinata had to take a deep breath before she gained the courage to ask what she wanted. Nayako was like a caged tiger; very pretty and appears tamed and docile, but at any moment she could strike out to remind you that she is a vicious beast whose fundamental nature is to be dangerous. She smiled prettily at her young apprentice, subtly letting Hinata know that she was in a good mood and receptive to questioning.

"Yes, Hinata-chan?"

"How come...I can't spend much time with Naruto Naruto-san," Hinata hastily corrected herself and hoped that Nayako did not notice the lack of formality used for Naruto, "yet, you allow me to spend as much time with Sasuke-san?"

"Well, the answer to that is simple. Every time you enter this teahouse the mistress of the teahouse lights an incense stick and your fees are based on the number of incense sticks that have burned from the time that you arrived to the time that you leave. An incense stick is worth about twenty-one coins. As a maiko, _you_ can charge one incense stick an hour and your fees are only one-third of what I earn. I am a popular Geisha so I get to charge one incense stick every ten minutes and I get paid the full amount. Thus, in one hour you will have made seven coins while I would have made 126 coins in one hour. When Naruto-kun visits you the mistress of the teahouse pays you the normal rate of one incense stick per hour. Sasuke-kun is charged the normal rate of one incense stick per hour also, but did you know that he insists on paying you the full rate of twenty-one coins per hour? He must be part of a powerful and wealthy clan, Hinata-chan. I have no problem with you spending time with Sasuke-kun. If you keep that up, maybe by the time you debut you'll be as successful as I am!"

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She knew why Nayako was so excited for her to succeed – a part of Hinata's money went to Nayako as payment for the apprenticeship and more importantly, it also reflected well on Nayako. But why was Sasuke paying so much to see Hinata? Why did he care so much? Where was he getting his money? Hinata wondered if he was part of a wealthy and powerful clan and if so, what was his interest in her?

"And besides," Nayako continued and she bent down a bit so that she could whisper in Hinata's ears, "you may think that your precious Naruto-kun is all sunshine and rainbows and all that good stuff, but let me tell you that he is one of the most dangerous nin that you'll ever meet."

Hinata stepped back from her in a stumble, her mouth hanging open un-prettily in confusion. Nayako straightened up and smiled at Hinata as she gently took her right index finger to push up Hinata's jaw that was hanging open in a most unattractive fashion.

"Your Naruto-kun has secrets, my dear Hinata-chan. Dark and nasty secrets that he has no control over. As much as you may think differently right now, I do care about you Hinata-chan. You're my little sister, my little maiko. I don't want you to get hurt."

Hinata turned her head to the side as she took in this new information. Naruto had dark secrets that he was hiding from her? Nayako may be a lot of things, but Hinata knew that her geisha-sister was no liar when it came to her maiko. She always told Hinata the most brutal of truths. Was Naruto hiding something from her? Her mind thought back to their conversations on wearing masks. Hinata thought back to the times that Naruto told her of his childhood. He said that no one in his village liked him. He said it was because he was a prankster, but was that really it? Her mind ran on to her encounter with Naruto at the top of the staircase this morning when he had verbally ensnared her to spending the day with him. He had laughed in a low and guttural tone and it was mischievous and sly. It reminded her of something, but what?

"You better take that young boy off your mind; it's left with you with a hideous facial expression and we have to entertain. If the men in there wanted to see ugly, they'd have stayed at home with their wives. Come on now, Hinata-chan."

Hinata's head snapped up to see Nayako smiling at her. Nayako never lied to her, Hinata thought. She lied to her clients, she lied to Auntie of the _okiya_, she lied to the mistress of the teahouse, she lied to her hairdresser, but she never lied to Hinata, right? Right? Hinata bowed faintly and by the time she rose she had plastered her smile in place and she stepped into the banquet hall with Nayako.

The main banquet hall was full tonight as it was every night. The Ichimokari Teahouse was the most popular teahouse in Kumo and it was always busy. There were three levels with the ground floor housing the main banquet hall, the secondary banquet hall and the kitchens. The second level was separated into three main rooms for smaller parties. These rooms were usually occupied by businessmen who wanted the entertainment of the geisha, but still wanted a more private area in order to seal lucrative business deals away from the bawdiness and loudness of the main banquet hall. The third level was separated into seven smaller rooms. These were allocated to men who wanted to spend one on one time with a geisha, no more than two geisha at a time. Generally, maiko are not called upon to entertain the men in these rooms. These men usually needed a more experienced woman like Nayako that was easy on the eyes and smart enough to know what to say and when to say it. The mistress of the teahouse only allowed nobles, very powerful businessmen and highly experienced Jounin to be entertained at this level by only the best geisha. This was especially true for the Jounin. These men who had seen so much needed geisha in their lives. Long after the fear of living and dying had gone from their minds, they needed someone to talk to, someone to remind them that there was beauty in the world; they needed that beautiful human touch. Hinata supposed that the mistress of the teahouse had seen the blackness of Sasuke's eyes and decided that he needed that human touch. She also supposed that Nayako swayed the mistress of the teahouse to give into Sasuke's request to be entertained by a young, half-blind maiko since Nayako would be seeing it as an opportunity for Hinata to make money more quickly. It was the only conclusion that Hinata could arrive at regarding how it was possible for she to entertain Sasuke by herself on the third level of the teahouse. But before she could entertain Sasuke, Hinata had to entertain with Nayako. Nayako didn't mind if Hinata kept Sasuke waiting because Sasuke also paid for the time that Hinata had him waiting. And besides, Hinata had to build up her reputation – it would be rude for her not say hello to the night's guest and she couldn't afford to lose her reputation.

"Ah, Daichi, Souta, Takahiro! I didn't expect to see you guys here in all this clamour." Nayako stated as she entered the banquet hall and she and Hinata took a seat next to the men. There was a long, low U-shaped table in the middle of the hall that could seat about thirty and spaced nearer the corners were smaller, low mahogany tables that could seat about three men each. Hinata recognized the men that Nayako hailed out – they were Jounin. They were in their late twenties; old by the ninja world's standard (somewhere Kakashi was wondering when did 26 become the new 46) and they had the battle scars to prove it. Daichi had a massive scar running diagonally from his right temple to his lower jaw. Souta had only two fingers on his right hand and one of them was not a thumb, forcing him to re-learn everything as a south-paw. Takahiro was missing an eye, three fingers on his left hand, had a scar running across his nose, his back, his arms, his torso and he walked with a limp. Hinata thought that either he was the world's clumsiest Jounin or he liked to take his acupuncture treatments during his fights with other ninja.

"Ah Nayako, the only noise I want to hear is you screaming my name." Daichi said.

"Do you now? I don't think you'd like what I have to scream. 'Help, help! Rapist!'" Hinata realized that tonight Nayako was being _that _geisha: the one that would flirt and make bawdy jokes. She looked at Hinata pointedly. This was another lesson. Last night Nayako made her listen in on her conversations with a client as they discussed centuries old artwork. Nayako's bawdy flirtatious persona was simply another lesson – that a geisha had to be every woman. You had to make them believe they were getting what they wanted

The men drowned in Nayako's natural sex appeal, her raspy, yet seductive voice and coquettish eyes with her lashes that were as long as the hour. She was a walking tease.

"Oh Nayako! You'll dirty my good name."

"Ah you don't have to worry about him, Nayako. You're outta his league. He couldn't touch you with a twenty foot pole!" Souta said.

"Hmm, a two and a half inch pole maybe?"

"OH!" Souta exclaimed in laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, Souta. Thumbs up on that one, right?" Daichi gave Souta a thumbs-up with his right hand and Souta's smile immediately dropped.

"Don't worry about him, Souta. Sometimes all you need is one really long finger to get the job done, no?" Nayako said slyly.

"Nayako! You're killing me here!" Daichi shouted in mock hurt as he clutched his heart and Souta cracked up at him.

"But seriously, what are you men doing here? Shouldn't you be upstairs dishing out the dark and hairy situations that you've seen?"

"I would love to talk about all the dark and hairy situations that I've been in, but it's not right to kiss and tell, eh Nayako?" Souta said and Nayako laughed heartily.

The laughter from the men broke out again. It was the usual flirting, but Hinata could not help but notice that Mr. Slap-chop (her private nickname for the unfortunate Jounin, Takahiro) was suspiciously grim. He was not laughing with the other men, but rather he kept looking around, shrewdly scanning the banquet hall. On closer inspection Hinata noticed that despite the flirting and the bawdy jokes, the other Jounin were also scanning the hall. Something was amiss. Daichi, Souta and Takahiro did not come there tonight just to be entertained. They were on a mission, Hinata concluded.

"The blind geisha!" Someone next to Hinata exclaimed and she tried her best not to let it show that she was startled. She was so taken up with the veteran Jounin that she failed to notice that there was another Kumo ninja sitting next to her and he was clearly drunk for he was speaking absolute nonsense as far as Hinata was concerned. He was a slim man of about thirty with very average features – perfect for a ninja, Hinata thought; his mediocrity in looks made it more likely for him to be undetected."You shure are lucky to be here." He slurred, but before Hinata could respond he continued, "Shuch pretty eyesh that are now pretty uselessh. My friend wash killed trying to get your eyesh and it turnsh out that they're uselessh blind eyesh. At least you're good-looking. Uselessh eyesh but I wonder what else you got that could make up for it." He stared at her lecherously.

Hinata had no idea how to respond to the man's drunken nonsense. She smiled prettily at him, her brain hurting to think up an appropriate response that did not involve her desecrating her tongue with obscenities. Luckily, Nayako saved her.

"Ah Hinata-chan will have to disappoint you once more, sir. She has another engagement to attend to and so do I." Nayako rose in one graceful and fluid moment and pulled Hinata up with her also. The Jounin protested heavily while Hinata made her bows. Out of the fire and into the frying pan, Hinata morosely as she made her way up the stairs to Sasuke, while Nayako made her way to another teahouse for her other engagement, but not before whispering into Hinata's ears –

"You better be a good maiko, Hinata-chan. You better flirt and make good conversation to keep Sasuke-kun coming back." Hinata nodded while she thought of a million different things that would have been preferable to flirting with Sasuke and one of those things involved scrubbing the toilets. And besides, Hinata knew that she could never flirt the way Nayako flirted tonight with those Jounin. She simply did not have the self-confidence needed for something like that. While going up the stairs Hinata noted that as long as her encounter with Sasuke ended early, then and maybe Naruto could arrive before Nayako returned and Hinata would have the chance to talk to him. Hinata sighed. She would need an insane amount of luck for that to happen. She might as well say 'as long as I could travel back through time.'

Hinata slid open the door and it was the same routine again. She apologized for keeping him waiting, he passively punished her by leaving her bowing in that uncomfortable position for about a minute and then they both settled down into resounding silence. The room was decorated in the same Spartan way with only a low table situated near the window and few tatami mats for seating. A few well-positioned vases with dogwoods and Lilies of the Valley flowers served as decoration. One the far side of the wall on shelves were instruments owned by the teahouse – shamisen, drums, flute, etc. Hinata sat down near the low table and stared at him while Sasuke sat at the window sill looking at, not outside like last time, but this time at her.

Sasuke looked at the small girl sitting in front of him and wondered whether all that he had heard about her was true. From the information that he had gathered, Hinata should have been the most successful apprentice Geisha at the moment. She was the youngest person to have ever been made an apprentice Geisha. Most maiko made their debut at fourteen or fifteen, but Hinata had debuted at twelve. The move to debut her at twelve was obvious – to get people talking about her. If that didn't set tongues a-wagging then Hinata's eyes certainly would have done the trick. Labelled as blind, Hinata was paraded almost as a circus attraction or museum art, according to whom you spoke to, in an attempt to further spread her reputation. The beauty of her eyes travelled far across Kumo and businessmen and ninja alike came to see her. She certainly seemed like she could make an impression dressed tonight in a viridian green kimono decorated with prints of vines bearing fruit and it was secured in a place by a heavy and intricately decorated royal purple obi dangling all the way to her ankles.

She was selected to be a dancer. Dance was one of the most revered of the Geisha arts. Only the most beautiful and promising would be chosen to specialize in dance and it was the quickest way to get noticed in the Geisha world. Hinata had the grace and the beauty necessary to be a dancer and because of that she was one of the best dancers in all of Kumo. In addition, Hinata was apprenticed to Nayako, one of the most beautiful and famous Geisha of Kumo. In other words, Hinata had everything necessary to be one of the most renowned and most successful Geisha ever, yet...that was clearly not the case.

The problem started when she opened her mouth, Sasuke decided. It wasn't because she had a distinct and ghastly case of halitosis, though he almost wished she did because that, _that _would have been fixable. No, unfortunately Hinata was cursed with the type of personality that failed to make much of an impression on anyone. She was an awkward teenager that tended to avoid eye contact with her clients. Sasuke wanted to box her ears for that. Her most interesting feature were her eyes and she constantly lowered them not in a coquettish, slightly come-hither way, but in a way that suggested she had something stuck on her shoe. It was frustrating. Hinata, Sasuke concluded, was wasted potential. She was the equivalent of having a million dollars and deciding that the best use for it would be to sew it into a throw pillow, something that was innately pointless and would only increase in its uselessness by being made out of money. For Sasuke's plans, Hinata needed to have more confidence in herself. As it was, most people tended to forget that she was in the room.

Hinata wondered why Sasuke was simply sitting there, staring at her like an idiot. His eyes were focused on her, but it was obvious that his thoughts were miles away. He was devoid of any expression and Hinata wondered what he was thinking. For all she knew he could be plotting an elaborate scheme of revenge or world domination. Or more likely he was trying to remember whether he had turned the light on at the back door. Whatever it was, Hinata had no idea as to what it could be. She soon realized that Sasuke was a man of few words and was capable of even fewer facial expressions. To Hinata, he seemed to oscillate between stoic and stony. She had heard the other Geisha talking about how incredibly attractive he was, but as far as Hinata was concerned Sasuke's stony features could be put to better use as a statue at the backyard of the _okiya_. They were jealous of her and she had to gently remind them that she was going blind, so of course they specified that they were jealous of her getting to spend so much time with Sasuke-san. Hinata would have happily traded but apparently Sasuke had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to see only Hinata. Of course he chose not to make his reasons for that clear since all he did since he arrived was to stare at her, while he most probably thought of his lunch from yesterday.

"Hinata," Hinata jumped a bit from her mental rant.

"Yes, Sasuke-san?"

"Why are you here?" I was wondering the same thing, Hinata thought, "Aren't you here to entertain me?"

"Of course, Sasuke-san. Would you like me to pour you some tea? Or maybe you would like some sake?"

Sasuke's answer took the form of a torrent of profanities that was so caustic and corrosive that it melted the makeup off of Hinata's face. Not really, but Hinata imagined him to be doing that and soon found that the thought of Sasuke doing something like that was hilarious. Maybe she'd found a way to get through this hour after all. In reality all Sasuke had said was a mere "Hn," and now Hinata had to decipher whether he wanted tea or sake or his bed or nothing at all. She decided to pour him some tea if only to have something to do while he looked on quietly.

"Is that a geisha's way to subtly flirt with men?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your arm. When you pour me tea you let just enough skin on the underside of your forearm show to keep a man intrigued to want to see more, but enough to think that there's nothing else to be seen. Most men would go crazy at the image. It must be a geisha thing."

Hinata lowered her eyes and focused on the tea. Sasuke was such an arrogant, know-it-all who was convinced that he was better than everyone. But then she remembered Nayako's words. She took a deep breath and tried to engage Sasuke in conversation.

"Are you most men?"

"What do you think?"

Hinata had no idea how to answer this question politely.

"You do not give away enough of yourself for me to be able to judge properly." She answered in what she hoped was a safe response.

"Hn. I don't have much of myself to give away and what I have no one would want."

"That's not what I heard. All the Geisha in this teahouse are ready to give up being a Geisha and become your wife."

"Silly women everywhere I go." He muttered.

"You have a fan club?"

He did not answer her; instead he slid off the window sill and settled in front of her. Silence reigned again and Hinata decided to play the shamisen to give him some entertainment instead of having him look at her bored face. She got up and took up one of the Teahouse's shamisen that was on a shelf, came back and proceeded to tune the instrument as she tried to remind her unwilling brain that this was not going as bad as she thought. Hinata played something slow and low. The melody was disjointed, yet comforting since it was low, like background music.

"What are you thinking of Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke was surprised that she had asked him a question. He was surprised enough to have an eyebrow waver in the air in shock at her boldness, and yes, this was considered boldness for Hinata. The last couple of times that he was here she had said nothing that she wasn't trained to say – would you like some tea or sake, would you like me to dance for you. Any other words that came from her were either a result of a direct question from him or she accidentally let something slip. But to directly question him with the inane question that all men receive at some point in time from all women...Well, he wasn't expecting it from her. Sakura and Ino had always asked him that question with the hope that one day he'd say that he was thinking about them. He was never thinking about them.

"I'm thinking about my brother."

He could see that he had surprised her in answering her; her shamisen playing faltered for the briefest of moments when she missed the note.

"Why are you so surprised? Did you not expect me to answer you? Did you think that I was going to berate you for your assorted limitations as a girl, as a Geisha, as a citizen of Kumo and as a valid excuse for a mouth until I got blue in the face and passed out from hypoxia?"

Hinata lowered her head and tried her best to hide her smile. If Sasuke only knew that that was exactly what she was thinking...But then her head snapped up – Sasuke-san had just made a joke with her! He was capable of joking!

"You do come across as somewhat mean, Sasuke-san."

"Well, you can blame my brother for that."

"I don't understand."

"My brother killed my family."

The tune faltered again in a loud and jarring twang.

"What! That's horrible! Was he insane?"

"I wish he was insane, that would have meant that he was blameless, that he did it not in his right mind. But he knew what he was doing." Sasuke looked down at the tea, his mind on two things – the night of his clan's massacre at the hands of Itachi, and did Hinata put something in this tea? Why was he telling her these things! He casually put the tea back down.

Hinata had no idea what to say. She resumed her playing because she could sense that he was mightily uncomfortable. She could see that with a burden like that he would need someone to talk to. But why her? Maybe he just wanted someone his own age to confess in. But he could have chosen any other maiko...

"Are you lonely, Sasuke-san?"

"No. I don't have room for loneliness or friendship. I'm quite happy being alone. My desire for revenge is keeping me entertained. I'm not here for your friendship, Hinata. I here because –"

"Friendship is the way of atoning for our families." Hinata mumbled and Sasuke was stunned. Her eyes were focused on the shamisen and he assumed that she thought he had not heard her, but he had. Her words stopped him. Her words made him think of a certain loud, blond-haired ninja and particular pink-haired kunoichi. He hadn't thought about Naruto or Sakura in weeks.

"I don't have time for friendship; only vengeance." He said after a while. Hinata looked up at him with those huge deliquescing eyes and he was stilled. He sat there staring at her eyes for a moment that was far past appropriate until Hinata in her discomfort, averted her eyes. He took a deep breath. "What would you do if everything that you've known was snatched away from you and the person that took it away taunted you at every moment, waking and in your dreams, about all that you have lost and are unable to regain because of your inherent weakness? Trust me when I say that you too will have little room for anything else. Remember what we spoke of last time – missing what you never had? That breeds contempt."

The music stopped. Hinata thought of Naruto. It was obvious that he had had hardships in his life, but he was teaching her that life was much more than that and that important friendships are what weather the storm.

"What would I do if I ended up in a life that was not supposed to be mine, if I lost out on something great and ended up with only hardship and hurt? Would I continually dwell on the possibilities that I could have had? Would I play the shouldawouldacoulda game? I should have done this, I should have done that? I could do that, but I suppose I'd end up bitter like vinegar, full of acid and unwilling and unable to see the good that there is around me. I'd be truly blind."

Sasuke said nothing for a while. He was taken aback by her words; not just her words but the fact that she had the confidence to say them. Where did she get this quite poise? Just a few months ago she could barely look him in the eye. She reminded him of someone he knew that spoke like that. Sasuke scoffed. It was a long time since he'd seen Naruto's talk no Jutsu in action. He scoffed again and this time Hinata looked up, again his mind unwillingly admitting that her eyes were captivating, which was exactly why he was here. He was getting side-tracked.

"Hinata, what do you know about seals?"

"Seals?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to clarify when suddenly there was a loud boom with a simultaneous lurch of the building causing the shamisen to fall out of her hands and go skidding to a corner; dust falling from the wooden rafters of the ceiling. Sasuke was up and about in a second while Hinata was still trying to understand that her ears were ringing. Hinata looked up to see that Sasuke was no longer sitting in front of her, but he had moved to the door. His left hand was on the hilt his sword ready to push it up from its sheath.

"Stay here." He commanded. His voice sounded cold and icy fingers gripped Hinata's spine at the sound of it. When she was speaking to him just now, she had forgotten how afraid of him she had been. But now, with his back to her and the schlink of his sword reverberating as he slightly lifted it from its sheath, he looked terrifying. He opened the door and stepped out. "Don't move from here." He again ordered and Hinata thought that he didn't need to tell her that – her body was ready to fall into the foetus position and render her useless as she sucked her thumb and stroked her hair in a reversal to her baby years – she was that scared.

There was silence for a few moments. It was sickening as Hinata strained to hear the people downstairs moved quietly, trying not to make a sound. Then there was a moan, followed by a scream. Suddenly there was the clear grating clink of metal on metal, screams of pain and loud explosions punctuated by more screaming. Hinata wished that she could have seen through walls! She was almost certain that the Jounin that she saw earlier had something to do with the chaos. She got up and backed up against the far wall, her eyes trained on the door, her ears straining to make sense of the din.

Suddenly the shogi doors opened and Hinata was about to breathe a sigh of relief that Sasuke was back, but it wasn't him. It was the same ninja that had said her eyes were useless! A fear gripped Hinata so suddenly and so fiercely that she felt that she could not breathe; her heart tight in her chest. She could see in his lecherous eyes what was going to happen to her. No, no, no, no, no, no. It was like every bad dream that she had ever had, except that she could not wake herself up. Instant tears sprung to her eyes.

"Well, what do we have here? A maiko all by herself? I always wanted to know whether you had something else to make up for them useless eyes." He smiled at her. His smile made her feel instant nausea.

"Please, please, please, no, no, no." Hinata begged. The ninja shut the door behind him as he removed a kunai from his weapons kit strapped to his right leg. He came at her quickly but Hinata dove to the side, his kunai dragging down her right side, tearing her obi. She had no idea where she got the strength but she tore apart the entire obi, throwing the heavy fabric in his face. He laughed.

"I'm a ninja! You think that's gonna stop me. Oh well. I like the chase!"

Her obi was loose, but Hinata's kimono was still cumbersome and heavily weighing her down. She flew up from the ground and tried to make a break for the door, but her kimono was long and tripping her up. She stumbled and fell onto her knees. She suddenly felt large hands gripping her hair tightly. She screamed out in pain and tried to pull forward. Surprisingly his grip slackened as her top bun of her _Wareshinobu_ hairstyle came undone and her hair tumbled out like water in his hands; her hair accessories falling everywhere to the ground in pieces. She lunged forward for the door, but he pulled her back, again by her hair. This time he had taken a section and wrapped it around his hand as he yanked her back. She felt like he was going to wring off her neck. She fell backwards and he pushed her off and sent her crashing into the far wall like a rag doll.

In an instant he was atop her. She tried to fight; her nails scratching and clawing at him, but he slapped her hard and ripped open her kimono. He was not expecting to see another underrobe, which was ridiculous since an underrobe could be seen whenever a geisha walks as she must lift her kimono a bit to do so, revealing the underrobe. His surprise was brief however, and he quickly recovered. He was about to rip open her underrobe with his kunai when he noticed that Hinata was not moving. Had he slapped so hard that she passed out?

Something strange was happening to Hinata. She could see clearly! But it was such strange sight. The world was awash in varying hues of greys and blues. Is this what it was like to go completely blind, she wondered. But she couldn't be blind. She could see the man's face. She could see his lust, yet...she could see his organs and veins and tissue and bones and a fine network of veins that looked like they had blue fire running through them. She could also see to the side of her and below her. It was extremely disorienting. Even her fingertips suddenly felt tingled with…some sort of energy. Fear suffocated her. What strange sight was this? She had gone blind, hadn't she?!

The ninja's hesitation at Hinata's inertia was fleeting and with a swift movement he tore open her underrobe with his kunai. He was about to push it apart when Hinata sprung to action. She fought with him fiercely, slapping him on his face. He was clearly bigger than her and more skilled than her, but this time he was fumbling as she fought with him. The slaps to his face was stinging more than usual. As a matter of fact with each slap it felt as if his skin was being torn apart – it hurt that much. This girl was fighting him with chakra! He paused and looked down at her. Was this geisha really a ninja? Her eyes were closed shut, but he did not realise that Hinata did not need to open her eyes to see where she had to hit. His hesitation caused him dearly. With surprisingly precise shots (though to her it seemed wild) Hinata slapped him on the side of the face numbing his tongue, on the side of his head inducing bleeding in the brain and on the chest – bringing about blood to enter his lungs; letting him drown in his own blood. He collapsed on her, breathing hard as the blood swelled in his brain and pain tightened in his chest; his tongue hanging out uselessly out of his mouth, his eyes bulging in shock and pain and confusion. Hinata tried to push him off, but his entire weight was resting on her.

"Get off of me! Get off of me!" She screamed and her prayers were answered when the weight was lifted. She rolled to the side in a desperate attempt to cover herself; instinctively falling into a foetal position. A familiar voice rang out and for the first time Hinata noticed that the building was now quiet.

"You are a despicable man. Rapists are worse than the worms that breed in latrines."

Hinata shut her eyes tightly. She wanted everything to go away. Her mind reverted to the afternoon she spent with Naruto, of hearing his voice when she woke up after she fainted. Even when she heard the drawing of a sword and the sickening sense of metal piercing flesh followed by the gurgling of blood, her mind was with Naruto and how he told her he had had a great time with her today.

"Hinata."

The voice sounded as if far away, like someone trying to wake her out of a dream.

"Hinata. Don't be afraid. It's me, Sasuke. Hinata." Sasuke bent down to turn her to him but as soon as his hands touched her shoulder she scampered away and backed up against the wall. Her eyes were white and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her hair was flowing all around her, her face like alabaster with fear. She was clutching her kimono tightly around her. "Hinata..."

Hinata's mind was going at a speed that she was not able to keep up with. She could no longer see the shades of blue and grey; her fingertips no longer tingled. Seeing in that detail had left her with an immense headache and her eyes were burning her. She was back to seeing how she usually saw – blurry outlines. She could hear a voice and she could see the familiar outline of spiky black hair, a sword and white shirt coupled with blue pants and the purple rope tied around his waist; but it was taking her mind longer to process that this was Sasuke.

"Hinata...don't be afraid."

Sasuke gently pulled Hinata towards him until he was cradling her in his arms. She was sobbing and his mind strangely the last female that he felt sorry for - Sakura. He remembered when those Sound nin had tried to kill her during the Chuunin exams. But his mind was also betraying him on the fact that he was a teenage boy. Most unwillingly his brain admitted that at this moment with her hair cascading about her and with her face stricken with fear as he cradled her half-naked body...he had to admit that he had never seen a creature more beautiful. He pushed her away from her, a bit more violently than necessary because of his forbidden thought and he noticed the welt forming on her face.

"Hinata, you're going to be fine." Hinata's eyes were distant and it was obvious that her mind was not here. Her mind was busy finding a coping mechanism as she relived her moment in the park today with Naruto. "Hinata, don't tell anyone that I was here. Do you hear me? Do you hear me, Hinata?"

"Naruto." She whispered. Sasuke paused. Did he just hear right?

"What?"

Suddenly ringing out like a siren came the voice that Sasuke had not heard in months, saying,

"HINATA!"

Sasuke's eyes bulged in shock. Something in Hinata seemed to snap and she pulled away from Sasuke and ran to the door, flinging it open.

"Naruto!"

Naruto stopped suddenly when he saw Hinata with her hair falling like an indigo waterfall past her waist, her face rapidly swelling and with her arms tightly clutching her kimono in an attempt to avoid being indecently exposed. He pulled her into a hug so tight because he did not want to let her go. But something behind her caught Naruto's attention. He was looking past her with confusion on his face. Hinata pulled away when she realized that his grip on her was loosening. She looked behind him to see what he was looking at. He was looking at the dead body bleeding on the ground, blood pooling onto the hardwood floors. Hinata looked around, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

A hot bath had done Hinata some good, but not enough. It was now after one in the morning and she had spent the last two hours in the bathroom of the okiya battling with her neurotic belief that she could still smell that Kumo would-be rapist's scent in her hair. Her viridian green kimono was one of her favourites, but it was soiled with the blood of the ninja and torn from his kunai; she would never be able to wear it again, not that she wanted to now. But her skin...she couldn't change her skin. Every time she remembered the events that happened just a few hours earlier at the Teahouse, her skin felt as if small insects were crawling underneath it. When that happened she would have to still herself and recall Naruto's touch. She would remember the way he felt when he hugged her so tightly that she felt like she might merge into him. She would force away the feeling of creepy crawlers under her skin whenever she thought of Naruto's embrace and a sense of calm and happiness would envelop her, but the feeling lasted only for moments. As soon as she drew upon the memory of his embrace she would also experience the feeling of when his embrace slackened around her form and he turned away from her to look at the dead ninja lying in blood on the ground.

Hinata changed into black drawstring pants and an oversized light green tee-shirt. She wrapped a towel over her wet hair, dreading that she would have to make a visit to the hairdresser tomorrow for him to re-style her hair into the _Wareshinobu_. Even though she went to the hairdresser every Saturday and should have been used to it by now, she still hated going there. The man was unduly rough on her scalp! He always raked the comb over her head. But, she supposed, that pain was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Her back was killing her from being slammed into the wall and she could barely walk without groaning. After all the hair pulling her head felt like someone took a cheese grater to her brain. The right side of her face was red and puffy with the eye almost swollen shut, but her eyes were hurting her the most. Randomly and intermittently she would experience severe bursts of pain, burning like fire accompanied with a sharp and uncomfortable ache as if something was tightening around her eyes. Luckily, the sensation lasted only for about three seconds and occurred less and less as time went on. In the last two hours she had only experienced it once.

Again, she supposed that that was the least of her problems for she had bigger questions to answer, such as, What the hell happened to her sight back then?! Hinata slowly exited the bathroom and practically crawled her way to the futon in the middle of the small 12 x 12 room. She sounded like an old, haunted house with all the crick, crack and moans she made as she bent to lie down. Breathless, she didn't bother to pull the sheet around her. Instead she lay stiff as a corpse looking up at the ceiling and trying to ignore the pain...everywhere. When she was convinced that she was not going to pass out from pain shock she dared to lift her hand to the front of her face. It still looked like the same blurry hand that she was accustomed to seeing. She could see no muscle or veins or bones. She could feel no cool tingling in her fingertips. Was that all part of shock? That's what Nayako had told her, whom by the way, had come racing in moments after Naruto arrived and the first thing she did was to further separate Naruto from Hinata by pushing herself between the two teenagers. She gave Naruto a withering look as she shielded Hinata's almost exposed body with her own. Naruto made an articulate gesticulation at her that managed to encompass "Where did you come from?" and "Why are you looking at me like that?" and "Why do you think you'd be better at comforting her than I'd be?" and "What the fuck is your problem?" all at the same time.

"What did you do to her?" Nayako hissed at him, while Naruto eyes bulged in shock at the accusation. "Hinata, did he hurt you?"

"WHAT!" Naruto cried before Hinata had the chance to answer. "Lady, I would never hurt Hinata-chan!" As if to further prove his displeasure and unwillingness to bring Hinata pain, he stepped back even further into the hall. "Why don't you ask the guy lying in a pool of blood what happened?"

Nayako looked over Hinata's shoulders and gasped, but quickly regained her composure before she turned back to Naruto.

"I would ask him, but as a rule men with gaping holes in their throats don't talk." Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and Nayako turned back to Hinata, while Naruto made quite an obscene hand gesture at Nayako's back. "Hinata-chan, did that man...touch you or...hurt you..."

"No, but...my eyes, my eyes..." Hinata mumbled. She was suddenly clutching at them like she was in pain, for a brief moment forgetting to hold up her kimono.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried and moved to step forward, but was stopped with one cold look from Nayako, who pulled Hinata's kimono closer around her.

"Hinata-chan," Nayako cooed as she stooped to be level with Hinata, "What the matter, sweetheart? Did that man hurt you? What's the matter with your eyes?"

"They hurt so badly! Argh! They feel like they're burning! I was s-s-s-seeing in grey and blue. I c-could see his bones –" Nayako pulled Hinata into her. Hinata's cries of mumbled nonsense as far as Naruto was concerned, was now muffled since Hinata's face was buried in Nayako's kimono.

"Oh child, you're in shock. You'll be okay. Hush now, you'll be okay. Let's head back to the okiya. Too bad you were here all by yourself with that man in this room." It was the chant that Nayako muttered like a mantra as she led Hinata down the stairs. Naruto looked at Nayako, then back to the body on the floor of the room, then back at Nayako.

"Hold up!" Naruto shouted at Nayako. She turned around to give him a look of such naked hatred she could have dried the moisture from his eyes and melted the skin from his face, but looks of disgust never stopped Naruto before and it was not going to stop him now. "So what, you're just gonna leave? Don't you care about what happened? What about the dead guy on the floor? Why aren't you taking Hinata to the hospital?"

"Listen, since you like that man so much you could stay and keep him company while I'll see about Hinata, okay?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"This is a woman's job, kid. Stay back." It was Jiraiya who said that. He was standing at the foot of the stairs staring up at his student with rarely seen stern eyes. Nayako looked at Naruto, waiting for him to give up. Naruto looked at Hinata who looked like she was about to keel over from shock. She had a massive bruise on the side of her face, but it was mostly obscured by her hair; her kimono filthy with blood. He thought that she looked like a broken doll. He wanted to comfort her, but it was obvious that a woman was needed in a situation like this. With a heavy sigh he turned away from Nayako, allowing her to continue on with Hinata. He looked back into the room and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Jiraiya was calling him, but he ignored his sensei. He further stepped into the room and stood over the dead ninja. The man was lying on his back, his face almost purple, blood was leaking out from his nose, mouth and eyes and ears. But the most obvious wound came from a stab wound to the throat. It was a vicious way to die. Naruto was no medical ninja but he was confused that blood was pouring out of the corner of the ninja's eyes due to a stab wound in the throat. He shrugged it off, supposing that there were a lot of things about the human anatomy that he was no authority on. But there was something odd about the situation. How did this ninja die? The wound in the man's throat was obviously made from a sword, but it was just as obvious that Hinata did not go around wielding swords. And even if she did, Hinata was perfectly incapable of harming anyone. Naruto thought that she probably even made a concerted effort to avoid stepping on ants. He looked at the man again and realized that there was a footprint in the blood, but it was too big to be Hinata's and it was not the dead ninja's. He wondered who else was in here with her. Whoever that was, had most likely killed the Kumo ninja.

"Kid, this isn't the place you want to be right now. This situation does not look good. Konoha's back in peace with Kumo; we don't want Kumo linking you as suspect number one in this just because you're at the wrong place at the wrong time. We gotta go." Jiraiya said from the door, bringing Naruto out of his musings. Naruto nodded in understanding. He knew that trouble followed him everywhere he went like a cartoon rain cloud and Hinata didn't need that in her life.

While Naruto was busy musing over the mysteries of what happened in that room on the third floor of the teahouse, Hinata had been taken back to the okiya where she was inspected head to toe and everywhere in between to assess the damage done by the ordeal. By the time Nayako had finished inspected her, Hinata was convinced that she was more violated than before a total stranger tried to rip off her kimono. Surprisingly no one asked her how the ninja died…

Now Hinata turned to her side on her futon, not without a lot of difficulty, and stretched her hand to open the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers that was lined up against the back wall, where the head of her futon was jammed against. She pulled out the small box that was tied up in horribly ugly and cheap, blue wrapping paper with prints that were better suited for a young boy. She sat up slowly. She had not had the chance to open the birthday present that Naruto had gotten for her, but she supposed she had time now. She tore open the paper as she doubted that anyone would have wanted to re-use it (she did not know many 5 year-old boys who had birthdays coming up) and gently removed the top lid of a wooden box. Inside there was lilac tissue paper and when she removed that she gasped. It was a hand fan. But not just any hand fan, but a bridal fan of white silk. She lifted it from the case and realized that it was heavier than she expected. On closer inspection she saw that one of the edges was gleaming and she realized that the outer edges were encased in steel! The fan itself was embroidered with small flowers and the border was made of lace. Hinata wondered whether Naruto bought this fan knowing that it was a traditional gift that brides received and if so, what exactly was he trying to say. A huge blush spread across Hinata's face like fire and her lips stretched into a bright smile. Several minutes were then lost to fantasizing about a wedding to Naruto. But as usual, reality came back to hit her in the face much like the slap she received today. More than likely, Hinata concluded, Naruto bought her the fan because he thought it looked pretty, not because it was brimming with matrimonial connotations. She lay back down with the fan close to her chest. Naruto...seeing him rush to her like that and hug her the way he did...well, she reasoned that that was what it felt like to have one's heart bursting with joy and gratitude. Gratitude...

If she thought about gratitude she should be thinking of Sasuke-san. He was the one that pulled the man from atop her. He was the one that had killed the man, while she...what did she do? Every time she thought about what happened, her brain seemed to get more and more confused. She did not hit that ninja blindly, wildly maybe? Yet, why did her slaps feel as if she had done those things before, as if those hits were carefully controlled and precise? And her strange sight? Nayako said that it was shock, that she imagined it. She was beginning to think that she did. Also, Sasuke was the one that killed the man, yet he said not to tell anyone that he was there. Nayako also seemed to have suddenly forgotten that Hinata was entertaining Sasuke and kept insisting that Hinata was entertaining not Sasuke, but the dead ninja. Why would she do that? How did she know that Sasuke did not want his identity to be revealed? Everything was so confusing! Hinata felt as if –

What was that? There was someone in her room. The room was dark and her pathetic eyesight was not helping, but Hinata knew that someone was to the right of her, standing at the window. Someone was in her room! Hinata's breathing sped up, her pupils dilating in fear, her heart tightening in her chest. For a few moments fear seized her and she was unable to move, hoping against all hope that the intruder would simply disappear; vanish into the darkness from which he came. But she knew that as a general rule, random men that snuck into a woman's room were up to nothing good.

Adrenaline nullified her pain and in an instant she jumped up and flung her jewellery box at the person. Without missing a beat she pelted her jar of white powder, her deodorant, her hair brush, her comb, her bottle of lotion and a bottle of perfume in lightning quick succession. Of course she had no idea what she threw; knowing only that the items on her dressing table would make excellent impromptu projectile weapons. When she ran out of things to throw she threw the fan. It was followed by a loud oof sound and an "Ow! Hinata, stop!"

Hinata froze.

"Naruto?"

"Yes. It's me. Damn it! Why did I buy you a steel-edged fan? Ow!"

Hinata ran to the wall that housed the light switch. Sure enough there was Naruto standing with some of the items that she just threw in his hands. Well, there were Narutos standing in front of Hinata. There were two images of Naruto. Hinata knew she saw blurry, but when did she start to see double?

"Hinata?" It was Nayako's voice.

"Shit!" Both Narutos echoed and dove out the window at the same time that Nayako opened the door.

"Hinata? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yes. I...I uh, I tripped."

Nayako's eyebrows shot in the air.

"You tripped? On what?" Nayako threw an eye around the room that held only Hinata's futon, her dressing table, her chest of drawers and a changing screen. There really wasn't much to trip on.

"Oh Nayako-san, I'm half blind, everything is a potential tripping agent waiting to happen."

Nayako looked at her maiko in confusion and suspicion for a few moments before she shook it off as Hinata being Hinata, which was weird.

"Ok then. Get some sleep, child. It's one in the morning and you've had a really tough night."

"Of course. I'm going to bed now."

Nayako closed the door behind her and Hinata listened for the sound of her door closing. Nayako's room was down the hall a bit away from Hinata's, but still close enough for her to hear if Hinata was entertaining a boy in her room, especially in the quiet dead of night. Stealthily, Hinata moved to the window to see Naruto walking up her wall the same way as if he were walking on the ground. He reached her window and climbed in.

"Okay, whose idea was it to put cacti outside your window?" Naruto grumbled as he removed cactus spines from his clothes and face. Hinata looked at him in awe and then looked outside the window and onto the yard two stories down in search for the 'other' Naruto that she saw. The yard was clear as far she could tell; no orange jumpsuit-wearing, hyperactive, blond ninja in her backyard. She turned to Naruto and said in a bit of a stunned state,

"There were two of you."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I can make clones. It's kind of my signature jutsu. I needed another arm to catch all the things you threw at me. Good aim, by the way." He commented as he began to remove the previously thrown items from his pockets and place them back on her dressing table.

"Oh." There was a brief silence as Hinata took in the surrealism of the situation. Naruto, her Mr. Sunshine, was in her room! Meanwhile, Naruto was realizing that there was no way that the tee-shirt he bought her a few months ago would ever be able to fit her. Even wearing an oversized shirt could not hide the fact that Hinata was very well endowed in the chest area. Naruto tried to focus on other things like the thorn sticking out from the side of his face.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?" He answered a bit distractedly as he removed the thorn from his cheek and stuffed it into one of his pockets.

"Did you just...ninja your way into my room?"

"Well, that's strong way to put it."

"Well the law calls it breaking and entering. I think my way sounds nicer." She said with a weak smile and he blushed a bit at his actions.

"You're right and I'm sorry. Especially after what happened tonight, I should have thought better, but Hinata I needed to speak with you."

For a moment Hinata's mind erased the words 'to speak with' from the last few words that Naruto said and she felt her heart aflutter.

"Hinata?"

"Huh? Right, no, you can't be in my room. If Nayako –"

"I know. It's _really_ inappropriate for me to be here. How about you come out with me instead?"

Hinata wondered, what was the differing level of inappropriateness between having a man sneak into her room and sneaking out with a man at one in the morning?

"So, can you sneak out?"

For such a great guy, Naruto sure was a bad influence, Hinata thought with a wry smile.

"Of course. I just need to change."

"You don't need to change. You look great! Though you might want to take that towel off of your head and maybe put on some pants that fit and light green is not your colour..." Hinata's face fell in exasperation. "Ahem, I mean, wear whatever you want, you look great." He mumbled. "I'll meet you in the backyard."

Hinata thought about changing, but to be honest she felt really comfortable in her old, baggy clothes. Every day she was made up and dressed up in the most elaborate fashion. Now that she was feeling at her worst, both physically and mentally, she could not bring herself to be fashionable; even for Naruto. Naruto would simply have to accept her the way she was. She did remove the towel from her head, however. She put on a pair of old, beat up waraji that she used when she used to do more tedious chores at home and carefully swung one leg over the window sill and then another. That was quite a far way down. It was not like she could walk on walls. Luckily, someone else knew how to do just that. To the side of her and stooping vertically against the wall was Naruto. He looked up at her and smiled. He was so absolutely amazing, Hinata thought.

"Need some help?" He offered with a smile. He stood up, now at a complete right-angle to the wall and made his way to the window.

"Step back inside."

Complying, Hinata stepped back into her room and Naruto followed. This time he asked her permission to lift her.

"I'm going to carry you. May I do that?"

For a brief moment the thought of someone touching her set her teeth on edge and she experienced a vague sense of repulsion. But then she remembered who she was dealing with. It was her Mr. Sunshine - Naruto. Still, shy and somewhat hesitant she only nodded dumbly to his question. He gently lifted her (she was so light! especially out of her kimonos!) hoping and praying that she did not faint this time. But of course by the time he reached the backyard, Hinata was passed out cold in his arms. He was beginning to think that he had something to do with her fainting spells.

When Hinata awoke she mentally chastised herself. She has got to stop with the fainting or else he'll start thinking of goats again, she shouted in her mind. She was at Blue Lake Park again, but this time she was in Naruto's arms facing the West Bridge where a river ran through the park. During the day the bridge offered a picturesque view with its row of four stringers that made it look like a moving caterpillar. The area was also known for its beautiful purple Trailing Verbena flowers, yellow and pink Calibrachoa, delicately lavender-hued Scaevola and white Bacopa flowers all hanging from baskets set decoratively atop the streetlamps where light peaked out through the blooms. It was night now, but the river glistened like emerald in the moonlight and with the pale reflection of the streetlamps. The flowers were closed but their scents lingered in the air and tiny fireflies lazily hovered, sporadically giving off their fluorescent lighting. A fine mountain mist lumbered in and the breeze blew slightly chilly. Naruto gently set down Hinata and he took a seat on a nearby bench. Hinata however, could not hide the groan that escaped her when she bent to sit down.

"You alright?"

"Yes, no, not really. It's my back. The guy, he um, he threw me into the wall."

"WHAT! That guy is so lucky he's already dead." He muttered and Hinata got that same sense that Naruto reminded her of some kind of animal. The last time the situation reminded her of some sort of mischievous animal, but just now he made her think of a very dangerous animal, but which animal, she couldn't put her finger on. A shiver ran up her body. It was really chilly out. The smell of freshly cut lawn was heavy in the air.

"What are you doing about your back?"

"Silently wishing away the pain?"

"What? No. You have to do stretches, Hinata. You see your back, legs and arm muscles are all designed to move, so that's why if you don't move about and do stretches, you can actually make the pain worse." He finished, giving her a look that translated to – I'm a ninja; I know a thing or two about pain management.

"Come on, lie on the ground on your back." He said gently, making it sound as if he were about to give her a massage instead of 'I'm going to make sure you cry when I'm done with you.' Hinata gingerly sat on the ground thinking that if she was breathless just from that then she had no idea how she was going to do the stretches. She lay back against the ground thinking a bit sullenly that the hairdresser will be extra rough on her scalp tomorrow to remove any remaining lawn in her hair, so she had that to look forward to. She should have kept on the towel.

"Relax. All nin do stretches after any training or battle. It'll strengthen your muscles and reduce your pain, trust me. Now, pull both of your knees to your chest while at the same time, pull your head forward so that you'd be like a ball."

Hinata did as told and felt pain radiate throughout her back as her muscles stretched. There was no way that she would be able to do this.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You have to hold it for at least twelve seconds." Naruto said and he stooped down in front of her, pressing his weight against her legs with heis chest to prevent her from bringing them back down.

"Naruto!"

"You can do this, Hinata."

Hinata looked at him and though he was a blurry form in the weak light of night, she could see his confidence in her. What was a bit of pain from stretching? Naruto did this and more every day, so why couldn't she do it too?

"You did it! You were really good! You can relax now." Hinata dropped herself back onto the ground and Naruto hovered above her, smiling proudly. "How did it feel?"

"It felt good, in a masochistic sort of way." Naruto laughed, causing Hinata to giggle too.

"It's always a bit painful the first time around, but it feels good. You'll get used to it."

A sudden intrusion of earlier night's events came to her and she recoiled a bit. Naruto noticed immediately and made a move to get up, but she held onto his jacket and pulled him down to her in desperation. He was safe and she never wanted him to think otherwise. Her grip was so strong and she pulled him so tightly that they nearly crashed into each other's face. Naruto stopped her pull to hover above her just inches away from her face.

There was a beat where neither of them knew what to say.

Naruto flew up from his position and found himself sitting on the bench and was surprised to notice that he was blushing, since he knew that most of his blood was busy being used in another part of his anatomy. _Oh God! I'm a pervert!_ he thought wildly. Hinata helped herself up from the ground, grateful that it was night and it was too dark to see that her face was beet red. She sat down gingerly on the opposite end of the bench. No one was saying anything. After a while Naruto cleared his throat and Hinata smiled stupidly while they both avoided eye contact.

"Well, um, ahem, you could probably, um, finish up those exercises at home."

"Yes, yes. I will do that, ahem." Hinata pulled her hair over the side of her face to hide the blush that only served to highlight the swelling due to the slap she got earlier, but surprisingly, Naruto noticed.

"Hey, are you hiding your face from me?"

"What? No." She shook her head in a subtle effort to let more of her hair fall forward.

"You're a terrible liar." He chuckled and came closer to her as he moved her hair back.

"Don't," She weakly protested.

"Why not? You look beautiful. There's nothing that could make you look less beautiful. Well, maybe that green tee-shirt." Hinata snorted in amusement, but she was still trying to hide behind her tresses. "I'm telling you, Hinata, you look great. You must be a late returned library book because you have fine written all over you."

Hinata burst out laughing and looked at him in disbelief.

"You can't beat me in cheesy pick-up lines, Naruto. I'm a geisha; I've heard them all."

"Oh really? You're like a prize-winning fish. I don't know whether to eat you or mount you."

"My love for you is like diarrhoea; I just can't hold it in."

"If I told you I wanted your body, would you hold it against me?"

"If you were a booger, I'd pick you first."

"The word of the day is legs; let's go back to your place and spread the word."

"You're like a barbed wire fence; I just can't get over you."

Naruto burst out laughing. "Okay, you win. I haven't heard that one yet." Naruto shook his head, thinking that he was hanging out with Jiraiya too much. He looked over at Hinata and she was smiling. They held each other's gaze for a few moments as Naruto wondered who on earth would ever want to hurt her. Hinata was absolutely innocent and harmless. There was no way that she could have killed that ninja; someone else was in that room, but who?

"Hey Hinata, I have an idea of what happened tonight at the Teahouse?"

Hinata's eye widened. Did he know about Sasuke-san? As dazed as she was, she clearly remembered Sasuke asking her not to tell anyone that he was there.

"Really?" She asked innocently, yet curiously.

"Yeah. From what the Pervy-sage gathered two missions collided at the Teahouse. Kumo nin were searching for an assassin while Konoha nin were on a B-rank mission looking for a thief. They had no idea that the thief was also wanted for a murder in Kumo and was being hunted by Kumo nin. I haven't found out who the Konoha team was. The guy was at the teahouse last night and I suppose a battle ensued.

"That's as much as I got on that, but as for the guy that tried to, you know, to you, I think that he took advantage of the fighting that was going on downstairs as a distraction. You're lucky that you escaped that situation. It was a good thing that someone was there with you to save you. Do you know who killed that ninja? Was it one of your clients? Was it another ninja?"

Hinata's breath hitched in her throat. She turned to look at Naruto. He was staring ahead at the bridge, the light casting an eerie shadow across him. He was not smiling or being goofy. She had never seen this side of him before. How did he know that someone else was in the room? She had a strange feeling that he was about to remove the mask that he always wore. If that was the case, then she needed to know what was underneath the mask, what was he hiding?

"Naruto, can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me anything, Hinata." He smiled brightly again and she felt a little more at ease.

"Nayako told me to stay away from you because you're one of the most dangerous ninja that there is, that you have a very dark and dangerous secret that you have no control over. I-I-I-I know it's not true of course, but..." She trailed off suddenly, realizing that she just admitted to him that she doubted him. Naruto turned to face the water again and Hinata could feel the change in his emotion; it was almost palpable. He was not angry, but he was definitely disappointed.

"She's telling the truth, Hinata."

"What? What secret do you have?"

"That I can't tell you."

"W-why not?"

Naruto sighed. Here was his cartoon rain cloud raining on him again.

"I don't want you to hate me, Hinata. My secret...I have no business being around anyone, especially you, but...Everyone that knows my secret hates me and for good reason."

"Why? I don't understand."

"I don't want you to hate me, Hinata."

"Don't you think that you should give me the benefit of the doubt? Don't you think that you should know me better than to think that I'd judge you? Naruto," Hinata took a deep breath before she summoned the energy to say what she had to, "I...I want to get to know you, to know everything about you, the real you."

Naruto looked at Hinata. She was actually looking him in the eyes when she said that and he knew how much courage it must have taken his shy, innocent Hinata to say that to him, but he couldn't tell her. It was better that she didn't know because he knew that _he_ would not be able to handle it if she were to reject him because of the Kyuubi. He had to hurt her to avoid being hurt himself.

"Hinata..."

It was all that he was able to say, but she was able to understand his unsaid words. Doubt settled in her heart, bitter like poison. What was Naruto hiding from her?

"I'm...I'm...I'm so...disappointed, Naruto-san."

Naruto's head snapped up. She was back to using formalities with him! A sudden annoyance rose up inside of him.

"Everyone has secrets, Hinata-chan. What happened in that room tonight? Who was in that room tonight with you? I know that there was someone else there. I heard that they couldn't identify the exact cause of death because the ninja received so many injuries that were inconsistent with a sword through the throat. I heard that Konoha is taking the blame for the kill. Who was it?"

Konoha nin were taking the blame for killing that ninja, Hinata wondered in confusion. Was Sasuke-san a rogue ninja from Konoha? But why would he take the blame? He specifically said to tell no one that he was here. It couldn't be that Sasuke-san was taking the blame.

But why would Konoha nin be taking the blame? There was no other person there but Hinata, Sasuke and the dead ninja. Who were the nin that were accepting culpability on her behalf, and why? But that didn't matter now. She couldn't tell Naruto that it was Mr. Sourpuss, Sasuke-san, who killed that guy. He saved her life and his only request was that she tell no one that he was here. She resigned herself and whispered,

"There was no one else."

Naruto slowly nodded in disappointed disbelief.

"You know, it's not so much that you're lying to me that's hurting me, it's that I've realized that you're not that bad of a liar after all and I'm wondering how much you've been keeping from me."

His words stung, just as much as her words hurt him. They sat there staring straight ahead, not saying anything, feeling hurt, angered and disappointed. After a while Naruto said,

"I should walk you back home."

They walked home in silence both of them angry at themselves for the situation they'd gotten into because of the many things that they could not say. They reached the outer walls of the okiya and Hinata realized that she had a problem. She could not scale that wall and going through the squeaky front gate was out of the question. She needed Naruto to lift her. She turned around to ask him and unexpectedly he said,

"I'm sorry. I guess we both have a lot of secrets, huh."

"That's okay. All things in the dark eventually come to the light when it's the right time."

"Are you upset with me?"

She smiled a weak, watery smile.

"Even if I am, I won't be able to stay angry at you for long. I value our f-f-friendship."

"Me too."

Neither of them had the courage to admit that they both wanted more than friendship, but they knew that that was something that would be hard to achieve. Secrets and doubt were already threatening to drive a wedge between their friendship. Was it possible to have more than that with each other?

"You ready to go back up?"

Hinata nodded and Naruto scooped her up easily. This time she did not faint. Naruto gently rest Hinata down in the middle of her room.

"I'll be gone for a little while again. I'll try to come back soon. Keep doing your back exercises, okay?" he attempted to be casual.

"Okay."

He smiled and turned to go, but ignoring the pain in her back she ran to him and hugged him from behind, disbelieving that she was able to summon the nerve to do something like that.

Naruto froze.

"Hinata..."

"Travel safe." She whispered and pulled back from him. Naruto didn't dare turn around for he knew if he did he would not be able to look into her eyes and still leave her.

"I'll see you soon, Hinata." With that he leapt out of the window and disappeared into the night. Hinata was left with an uncomfortable feeling of prickly loneliness. But she was not alone. She had no idea that someone had been watching her the entire night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

Hanabi looked on as Naruto lifted Hinata and took her into the room. With her Byakugan activated she could see directly through the concrete walls. She was over a hundred yards away, perched atop a tree in the neighbouring yard looking at Hinata rush to hug Naruto from behind. Hanabi focused her Kekkei Genkai on Naruto's face and on his eyes and she could see that it almost pained him to leave. Furthering her depth of perception while still focusing on Naruto's face, she looked through his back, but stopped short at Hinata's face and saw that her eyes were brimming with tears. Hanabi was no expert on love, but even she could tell that her sister and Naruto had very strong feelings for each other, whether they knew it or not. Now how the hell did _that_ happen, Hanabi wondered. Somehow Naruto managed to dig up her dead sister and fall in love with her. He was like a ninja Heathcliff.

She supposed the real question was - how was her sister still alive? When Hanabi came to Kumo with Kurenai, Shino and Kiba last night the last thing she expected to find was her sister. Team Eight was on a B-rank mission to locate and bring into custody a thief that had appropriated a couple of scrolls from the Konoha library. The scrolls weren't priceless artefact that should have been kept under heavy guard of the Hokage's tower, but they were still very important scrolls. The team had no idea what information the scrolls held, well maybe Kurenai did as she was a Jounin after all, but the Genin squad was simply doing as told – retrieve the thief and scrolls. A relatively simple job since there was no team better at tracking than Team Eight.

Kumo was a place the rest of the team easily fell in love with. The mountain city hummed with life especially at night when smoke from vendors cooking all sorts of street food rose into the air and filled the atmosphere with roast duck, ginger and jasmine rice. Akamaru loved the city since the eaters at these street stalls would throw their scraps to him. By the time he passed four stalls his stomach was distended and Kiba was busy telling off the teenage dog about his greed. One could barely walk three steps without some peddler trying to sell you a carpet, cigarettes, shoes, perfume, obis or hair ornaments. The city was loud and crowded and bustling. Kumo was built on free trade and competition was fierce in their capitalist economy. Their biggest money came from two things – ninja assignments and the Geisha industry. There were lots of ninja in Konoha, it was a ninja village after all, but there were no Geisha in Konoha. They were practically exclusive to Kumo and Kiba and Shino were enthralled. Kiba gaped openly at the women with their white painted faces and elaborate hairstyles. Even Shino was surreptitiously taking glances at the geisha girls. He gave himself away however, when one young geisha held his gaze with such hypnosis that he tripped and then tried to cover it up by breaking into a short jog. The geisha giggled coquettishly at him and for the first time Hanabi saw Shino blush. Stranger things have happened.

Surprisingly Hanabi did not detest Kumo and its liveliness as everyone thought she would. The place was very different from Konoha what with its nose-bleed inducing mountainous peaks, dangerous precipices, and a million and one people. It was a different environment that Hanabi decided to view as a new opportunity. An opportunity to showcase that she was no failure, for that was what the Hyuuga elders were whispering. Though she wanted to be focused, she found Kumo to be a necessary distraction for her, to block out the elders' words. She moved automatically, only vaguely hearing, understanding and obeying Kurenai's command to split up and do reconnaissance. She was never truly alone because Shino always had a bug on her and she knew that Kiba and Akamaru could pick her scent from a mile away. She found herself wandering aimlessly for a while, then had to shake herself out of it. Remember who you are looking for, she reminded herself. An image of a man of about five feet ten with a raggedy mop of brown hair and a goatee came to her mind. There was nothing particularly outstanding about the man, but he was her quarry.

Failure. She wasn't a failure. She lost one match with her monologuing cousin and suddenly she was a failure in the making. Kurenai, without being asked, had said that it was not the loss to Neji that made everyone disappointed, rather it was Hanabi herself. And what the hell does that mean exactly, Hanabi had asked as politely as she could through gritted teeth. Kurenai had not answered her, but Kiba was more than willing to suggest that her father was more than likely disappointed in the way things turned out with his daughters. His eldest daughter was a sweetheart though lacking the confidence to have the necessary skill that he'd have liked for her to have obtained. It didn't matter now since she was more than likely lying dead at the bottom of a river in Kumo. His other daughter, had the skill necessary to make him proud, but she was colder than ice; her _heart_ might as well have been lying at the bottom of a river in Kumo. Kurenai said nothing, but Hanabi could see that she agreed with Kiba. And quietly Hanabi supposed Kiba was right. Hiashi wanted the best of both worlds. Or maybe he just wanted Hinata back. He could have moulded her into a better ninja with training and experience. But what possible way was there to melt the heart? If Hinata was alive, Hanabi wondered, would she be a better heir? Would she have held Father's approval? If Hanabi had been the one to have died, would he have missed her and retro-appreciated her qualities? Her father liked people who looked after things and finished what they started. He liked efficiency and precision. He should have liked her then, but that was not the case. It was simply too late to give him the daughters that he wanted, Hanabi thought. She wanted to answer Kiba and tell him that she thought of trying to be a better person, to open up her heart to the world, but it was easier to stay on the sidelines. People always brought disappointment. But she stayed silent. They weren't expecting her to respond anyway.

By absolute chance she had managed to glimpse the thief that she was after. He was walking some distance in front of her rather casually taking in the shop front windows, probably thinking of what he could steal. Hanabi was ten years old and at the appropriate height for that age. She wore black pants that reached down to her calves and a wrap around grey tunic with long sleeves over a white tank top. There was nothing conspicuous about her attire, but she supposed that if her kunai pack strapped to her right leg and her Konoha headband did not give her away as a Konoha ninja, then her white Hyuuga eyes would. She hoped that the night crowd that was milling about for no apparent reason (she always thought loitering was a crime) would give her necessary cover. Then, true to its reputation, a thick haze of cloud cover began rolling in forcing her to keep about twelve paces behind the thief. She was reluctant to use her Byakugan because she wanted to conserve chakra. At least that was the lie she told herself; for deep down she could never forget that her sister died here because Kumo had tried to take her eyes.

The thief was walking briskly and after a while rain started to fall. They were in a tunnel now and when she followed him up some stairs and out of the tunnel she realized that it was raining a lot harder than she originally thought. God must have had his entire staff of angels chucking down buckets of the stuff from their great height above. She needed webbed feet to go out in this mini-monsoon. The haze of clouds was still there too, thick and gloomy grey. No wonder Kumo tried to steal the Byakugan, she thought cynically, without it they needed Braille to get from one place to the next. Of course now she was thinking of her sister and her father on that fateful day. She wondered what they must have felt like soaked to the bone thinking that things just might be alright when suddenly everything changes...

Tut-tut. She was distracted again. She hadn't even noticed that she had wandered down some busy street that had a lot of shops and she had lost the thief! This was getting ridiculous! Why was she so distracted?

The rain stopped and melted into a fine drizzle, the fog thinned. The particular shop she was standing in front of had no lights on in their shop front windows. How odd...She peered into it for no other reason than because she found it odd and wondered whether the thief had found a hiding place when saw the strangest reflection in the background. Those eyes!

Hanabi spun around to see a young Geisha walking down the steps across the street holding above her a delicate parasol that would be as useful as a little cocktail umbrella if another shower of torrential downpour came. There were a hundred geisha around her but this young geisha stood out, not because of her elaborate viridian green kimono which was rather eye-catching with its floor-length sleeves that were so long and cumbersome that the girl had to fold them up around her arms in order for them not to be dragged. Rather it was her eyes that stood out to Hanabi since that geisha had eyes just like hers! Hanabi stood still. She felt as if ice water had been poured into her veins, but her brain did not get the signal to react. She simply stood there staring at the geisha thinking oddly that she had somehow made an unconscious decision to find her sister and the universe had conspired to make it happen. Now Hanabi had only seen pictures of her sister, she did not have any memories of her sister in the flesh, but she was absolutely positive that the geisha in front of her was her sister. She casually turned on her Byakugan, absently remembering that Kumo had always wanted her eyes, and looked at the girl in front of her. It was just like with Naruto, Hanabi thought. If ever Hanabi happened to look in Naruto's direction with her Byakugan on, she'd notice a complicated chakra sealed barrier somewhere around his navel. She always wondered what that was about. Why did Naruto have a seal on him? But who cared about Naruto at the moment, because Hanabi could see similar chakra sealed barriers taking the images of kanji and filigree patterns running around the geisha's eyes and continuing along her head to meet and go down the length of her spine. When she passed closely enough, she heard someone call out Hinata. Hinata waved and smiled shyly to another geisha.

Hanabi gasped. Her sister was alive! Good Lord how had this happen! And who was that other older geisha walking with her? Why was she still alive? How? How did she end up becoming a geisha? Does she have any idea of her heritage? Is the seal still activated? What was going on! How was –

She caught in her hand the kunai that was aimed straight for her temple, her rant stopped mid-question, her right palm now bleeding. She threw down the kunai as a reflex. Hanabi instantly pulled out her own kunai to deflect a shuriken that was headed to her face. From a distance of ten feet away she could see the thrower of the kunai – it was the thief that they were hunting. He was now standing in front of a shop front about fifty feet to her right. Someone had screamed – high pitched and filled with horror. This caused the thick crowd to loosen up as if someone had poured milk of magnesia over them and everyone scattered. The thief must have thought that he'd surprise attack her and blend into the crowd for cover. But she could easily see his chakra signature with her Byakugan. She ran up the shop wall and headed directly for him and could see clearly the look of surprise on his face. She needed to be close enough to deal the Gentle Fist style. That was one thing she didn't particularly like about the Gentle Fist – the inflexibility of being a close-range taijutsu. She ran towards him, but he was not backing down or even attempting to run away. She wondered what jutsu he was about to use on her. Suddenly the water that was slickly running down the shop front windows and collecting in little puddles along the roadside rose up to encapsulate Hanabi like a dome. She had no choice but to encase herself in chakra. There was no escaping, water was everywhere. So the thief was a nature manipulator huh, Hanabi calmly thought. But just as suddenly as the water appeared it disappeared. She fell down to the ground in a loud splash, up on her feet in no time and ready for action. But then the pain in her eyes was spectacular! It burned as if someone had poured acid into it. She instantly covered her eyes with chakra, but found that the pain intensified. It didn't take Hanabi long to figure out that she was being forced to disable her dojutsu. She instantly deactivated her Byakugan wondering how long this was going to last. She looked to her left to see that her quarry was now being chased by Kumo nin. All three of the nin looked like they had been attacked by a bushwacker what with their multitude of scars and missing appendages. Hanabi was not about to lose her quarry, this was a Konoha mission after all; Kumo had no right trying to take over her mission. She should have radioed for assistance to the rest of her teammates, but the water had rendered her radio useless, and also, Hanabi didn't think that she needed any help. Jumping up onto the railings that separated the people of Kumo from a painful death off of a precipice, she pursued them. Terrified citizens scampered about, screaming unnecessarily as far as Hanabi was concerned because she knew that this had nothing to do with them. She was just thinking that they would be more or less safe when suddenly she saw the thief ahead of her of about fifty feet, throw someone off the precipice. She could not see who it was. All she saw was viridian green falling in a blur and a sickening scream filled her ears with terror.

The Kumo nin that were chasing Hanabi's thief did not stop. To be honest, as of five minutes ago Hanabi would not have stopped either. That girl who fell over the side of the railings would have been deemed a casualty of a fight. Hanabi would even have argued that Kumo should have put up higher railings that were made of sturdier stuff; not some flimsy matchstick fencing that looked like it was really held up by spit and a prayer. She would have said that five minutes ago, before she knew that her sister was alive, before she knew her sister was a geisha, before she knew her sister was a geisha wearing a viridian green kimono.

Without thinking about it she jumped off the precipice in search of the fallen girl and landed heavily on the canopy of the thick forest below. She could hear the girl's screams. She could hear the sickening snapping of branches or bones as the girl fell. She fell fast and Hanabi only just managed to see her descent through a haze of bush and leaves, varying shades of green and brown. Hanabi hastened her descent by streamlining her body. She stretched out her hand to grab the girl's obi. She stretched...her fingers just inches away...It didn't matter for a second later the girl fell on her back onto a branch. A terrible snap was heard as something broke. It was not the branch. Breathless and terrified, at that moment Hanabi felt that she knew what her father spoke of when he told her how he felt distraught and ashamed after he failed to bring back Hinata. She landed on the tree next to the dead geisha. Ashamedly she breathed a sigh of relief knowing that it was not her sister. Hanabi had no idea how to explain why it was such a bitter relief. She supposed the relief had something to do with coming so close and to know that she still had a chance to save her sister. She knew it was bitter because this dead geisha, while she was not Hanabi's sister, she was probably _somebody's_ sister...

She was not physically strong enough to lift up the geisha, but she still tried. She heaved the twisted frame of the girl onto her back and began the gruelling climb upwards without chakra. Every time she tried to actively use her chakra to climb the trees her entire body felt as if it were on fire and her eyes felt as if someone had stuck hot pokers into them. No, she would not be actively using chakra. She climbed up wondering absently whether the elders still viewed her as a failure.

"What on earth happened to you?!" Kurenai had asked her three hours later when Hanabi finally caught up to her sensei on a busy street. Hanabi wondered whether she should answer that question and better yet, _how_ to answer that question. She was covered in mud and had bits of leaves and twigs sticking from her hair; Shino's bug lying squashed in tree somewhere, her scent marred by mud with questionable odour. She looked like a wet fowl that had rolled around in someone's hedges.

"You ran into the thief, didn't you?"

Hanabi only had the strength to nod. This was turning out to be a really bad mission. "I can't use my Byakugan. I can't use chakra to do anything or else I end up in severe pain." Hanabi said in heavy breaths. It wasn't easy climbing up a mountain _without the use of chakra_ while toting a dead teenager on one's back. "I got cut by one of his kunais. Plus, he trapped me in some sort of water prison but when I came out of it, I couldn't use my chakra."

Kurenai furrowed her brows. "I think you've been poisoned. It was caused by either the kunai or his chakra-infused water manipulation."

"That's not good." Hanabi said in a winning understatement, narrowly edging out a woman in Kiri who had said that the Second Shinobi World War was 'really bad.'

"I'm no medic nin but I'll try to see what I can do." Kurenai said as she gently pulled Hanabi away from the bustling of the main street and down a side lane. Kurenai drew chakra into her hands and they shone a blue-green colour. She was no medical nin, but she had to try. She had no idea if the poison was simply preventing Hanabi from further using any of her chakra by painfully blocking it or whether the poison was eating away at her chakra and that was why it was so painful for Hanabi to access it. All Kurenai did know was that she had to help stop the poison from spreading until they could visit a hospital. "Kiba and Shino are inside this teahouse here." Hanabi looked up to see the teahouse's nameplate written on a small sign on the wall – the Ichimokari Teahouse. "They think that the thief entered here. I tried to go in with them, but the mistress of the teahouse plainly told me only men and Geisha could enter. But she let in Akamaru though! I thought about ninja-ing my way into there, but I decided to let Kiba and Shino handle the experience on their own. But now, now as I see what happened to you...maybe I need to rethink my strategy. This thief is a lot more dangerous than we thought."

"Kumo nin were after the thief. I'm not sure if it's because they saw the commotion he caused in his fight with me or whether they were after him for some other reason." Hanabi said laboriously.

"Well –" Kurenai's words were cut off by the sound of a loud explosion that rocked the teahouse. They raced into the teahouse. The mistress of the teahouse was not about to stop them because a beam had fallen on her and she was out cold, probably dead. Geisha were scrambling everywhere, but there seemed to be a battle emanating from the kitchen. Hanabi and Kurenai hurried to the kitchen to quickly find Shino, Kiba and Akamaru engaged in battle with the thief and the Kumo nin whom Hanabi had seen earlier. She had no idea that they were the Jounin Daichi, Souta and Takahiro, who were chasing the thief because he was brought up on charges of assassination. No one knew that so it soon turned into an all out brawl as everyone not wearing a familiar headband attacked each other.

The battle stopped for a number of reasons. One, the thief/assassin was dead at the hands of Kumo ninja, Daichi. Two, Kurenai had trapped all non-Konoha nin in a terrible genjustu. Three, the roof was about to collapse in on itself. Kurenai released the genjutsu and demanded an explanation.

"Kumo nin, you killed my quarry! Explain yourselves!"

"We killed _our_ quarry. This man is a wanted assassin." Souta answered her. Hanabi absently thought that that would explain a lot. Kurenai and Kiba launched into a heated argument with the Kumo Jounin while Shino stayed silent and Akamaru bore his teeth and tried to look menacing, which he failed at since he still had his puppy face. After about five minutes of that Hanabi halfway tuned out as she wondered whether she could use her Byakugan now. Without the aid of hand seals, her dojutsu activated. It was a bit fuzzy, but she felt no pain. She nearly jumped when she saw Hinata in a room upstairs. She had almost forgotten about her in the wake of the mêlée. Hanabi could see that her sister's kimono was torn, her hair falling down past her waist and a huge bruise on the side of her face. There was also a dead Kumo nin lying in the room with several internal injuries and a wound to the throat. The same geisha that Hanabi had earlier seen with Hinata was hugging Hinata and seemed to be blocking her from...Naruto? What the hell was going on here? And was that the sannin, Jiraiya, standing at the landing of the second floor? Hanabi watched as the elder geisha led her sister down some stairs and then out of the teahouse. She kept looking at their progress and the direction they headed in, while simultaneously keeping an eye on Naruto who was now standing over the dead Kumo ninja. She saw Naruto eventually leave with Jiraiya. And then she saw Shino standing in front of her.

"What is the matter, Hanabi? What did you see?"

Hanabi turned off her Byakugan. She was not yet prepared to tell anyone anything since there were so many things that she did not know the answers to as yet.

"Nothing."

Shino gave her a raised eyebrow of suspicion and Hanabi knew that she had to tell him some sort of answer.

"There's a dead Kumo ninja in a room on the third floor." _That_ got the Jounin's attention. They all raced upstairs from the kitchen, missing Naruto and Jiraiya by seconds, Kurenai still busy arguing with Daichi about who was going to clean up the mess of stepping on each other's missions. They all stood over the dead ninja's body looking at the obvious throat wound that killed the man and the not so obvious wounds that were starting to show up as tell-tale bruises from the internal injuries. Hanabi quietly activated her Byakugan again and saw that the injuries were extraordinarily precise. There were very sharp hits to the left temple and to the lung. But the immediate cause of death was from a sword to the throat. She turned off her Byakugan, thoughts swirling in her mind. Those wounds were so precise that only a medical ninja or a Byakugan wielder could have delivered them. Did Hinata know how to break her seal and use the Byakugan? But what about the sword? Where could Hinata hide a sword in her kimono? And Naruto? Did he have something to do with this?

"Do you know who was in this room?" Souta asked but no one answered. Hanabi knew that it wouldn't take them long to discover that it was Hinata who was in this room and that could lead to questions that Hanabi did not want answered. She could not afford for her sister to be brought up on murder charges or that she was really a Hyuuga.

"I killed him." Hanabi spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her, confusion written on their faces.

"What?" Echoed around the room.

"I said that I killed him."

"What were you even doing up here?" Kiba asked.

"We were engaged in a fight. We ended up here. I killed him." No one knew what to say to this because to be absolutely honest, they weren't sure whether the little girl was in the kitchen with them all the time.

"Where's the sword. From the looks of it, I'd say it was a katana that killed this man." Takahiro asked.

"I...someone must have taken it when I left the room. I know that I left it in him."

Everyone stared at her. It obvious that she was lying, but why? Kurenai grabbed her arm and whispered fiercely.

"Why the hell are you taking blame for this? Konoha and Kumo are in peace and you'll ruin it with this lie. They might ask for payment for that ninja if they learn that a Hyuuga killed him."

Hanabi shrugged off her sensei and repeated her words. "I killed him."

Daichi, Souta and Takahiro considered the little girl standing before them. It was obvious she was lying, though she did possess the Byakugan. They could use the situation to their favour. But it didn't sit right with them.

"We know that you're lying, little girl," Souta spoke. "I don't know why, but we will get to the bottom of it. We'll not act on this," He gestured to the dead ninja and the scene of destruction in the room, "not until we find out the matter behind this."

Kurenai nodded and turned to her Genin squad. "You guys head back to the inn, I'll go to the Raikage with these Jounin." She instructed them. She had a massive headache. Why was Kumo and Hyuuga always such trouble?

Hanabi made sure to find herself at the end of the line when everyone filtered downstairs and out of the teahouse. Kurenai and the Jounin were at it again about whose quarry it really was, with Kiba and Akamaru joining in to support their sensei. Shino was as usual, very quiet. After a few moments of walking next to Hanabi, when he was sure no one else would hear him, he quietly said,

"Why did you steal the mistress of the teahouse's reservation book, Hanabi?"

Hanabi narrowed her eyes. Shino was a sharp one. She did not answer him. She felt no need to explain to him that Hinata was in that room on the third floor and that according to the mistress' book, Hinata was entertaining Sasuke Uchiha.

Now as Hanabi sat perched in a tree in someone's yard at near two in the morning and watched as Naruto slipped out from Hinata's room, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Hinata was a geisha who entertained dangerous rogue nin the likes of Sasuke Uchiha? Did she know who he was? Did she know about her Byakugan ability? A sudden thought entered Hanabi's mind. Here was an opportunity to prove herself, to make her father proud and to make Konoha proud and to get her sister in touch with her ninja ways. She'd let everyone know that she was no failure. She just needed to figure out a way to break Hinata's seal on her own and get Hinata to continue seeing Sasuke Uchiha. . .

She figured that she'd have to pay a visit very soon to her big sister. . .


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

* * *

For a brief moment when Hinata woke she forgot who she was, where she was and what had went on about her, but then when she began feeling woozy and cold, her body aching and she remembered with startling clarity the events of last night. The Kumo Jounin – Sasuke's thirst for vengeance – Naruto coming into her room – her back exercises – Nayako inspecting her – her near rape – her disagreement with Naruto...Sasuke killing that man...her mysterious vision...

In an attempt to forget about the worse parts of that night she immediately began doing her back exercises. It hurt like nothing ever, but after a while the endorphins in her brain kicked in and it didn't feel too badly. It even sort of felt good, in a masochistic sort of way. She snorted in amusement when she thought of the word masochistic and remembered her double entendre conversation she had with Naruto last night. He was hovering over her most likely thinking forbidden thoughts which then prompted him to lift himself off of her. He had moved so quickly it was like he was propelled. If anyone had been looking they might have thought that she had _kicked_ him off of her. Hinata giggled. He always knew how to make her laugh, even when he wasn't even trying.

She supposed that was why she thought of him during her most trying moment – the aftermath of the near rape last night. Sasuke had been embracing her, trying to tell her comforting words which took the form of tell no one that I was here (charming, wasn't he).

Sasuke. It was because of him that she had her...disagreement, for want of a better word, with Naruto. He had put in her such a difficult position. She wanted to hate Sasuke, really she did and to be honest he seemed to try his best to be hated. He was rude and arrogant and dismissive. Yet . . . he had saved her. And he had opened up to her about his brother and the way that made him feel. Now why did he do that? Was it because he needed someone to talk to? Hinata seriously doubted that; even _he_ looked surprised when he told her of his brother. Did he do it because of he had plans for her. Some months ago he had said that she could still be of use to him. What did he mean by that? She simply couldn't trust him. He seemed a man that was relentless in his purpose and almost satanic in his desire to fulfil his mission. She had a feeling that he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. In that respect he was eerily similar to Naruto.

Naruto was also a man that thought and acted in absolute terms. Everything that he did gathered attention. He was a man who people remembered, a man that remained in people's hearts, he was a man apart. Everything about him was larger than life, from his colourful clothes to his dreams. Hinata knew that he was destined for great things, but where did that leave her? It was obvious that she was not on the same level as him. She couldn't defend herself from a half-drunk man with lascivious thoughts. She couldn't even do her back stretches without crying in pain. Heck, she could hardly walk three feet without tripping, though that did have more to do with the fact that she could barely see three feet in front of her. She wanted to do great things, she wanted amazing moments, but it was clear that that was not happening or ever going to happen. Maybe Naruto needed someone more suited to his big personality and lofty aspirations. Maybe he would be better suited to his friend he talked about – Ms. A. She seemed confident and skilled, the kind of woman that he would like. Ms. A also had the added benefit of living in the same village as him. Naruto didn't have to cross two countries to see her, unlike with Hinata.

But Hinata supposed that that was why she couldn't give him up. It was _because_ he was willing to cross two countries to see her. It was because he devoted a significant portion of his time spent away from her thinking about ridiculous excuses to find himself back in Kumo. It was not every day that she met someone who made her want to share her soul and listen to them and absorb everything about them. To be honest, most of the times she attracted those morbidly depressed, crippled with social awkwardness or down on their luck clients in a manner that she hoped was in no way related to some sort of recognition in her on their part. But Naruto made her life seem different and worthwhile. She wanted to be better for him. She wanted to _be_ better and greater, for him. He inspired her. She anticipated his visits, found it difficult to think of anything beside him. She felt for the first time that she had met someone who completely turned her world around by his mere presence. So what if they had a few secrets between them? If she didn't know, she didn't need to know it now. At least she had him and his friendship. Though, she knew that she wanted more than friendship with him. She wanted a lot more of him. She knew it when she hugged him last night and felt his body against hers – her arms against his flat and toned stomach – her breast pressed against him. . .With that thought Hinata got up off of her bed, still a bit slow, but better than before and headed to the bathroom. She couldn't afford to be distracted now. She had an appointment at the hairdresser.

"Why do you keep falling asleep on yourself, Hinata?" Nayako asked.

They were at the hairdresser's, a small place that was situated next to a coffee shop. All day the putrid odour of dirty hair mingled with the almost noxious scent of boiling coffee beans and the intoxicating fragrance of sweet smelling shampoos. Nayako was sitting on a chair having her long hair sectioned and folded into the split peach hairstyle by the hairstylist, a young man of about twenty-three and almost insanely pretty. He wore his hair long, held by a single clip at the nape of his neck. Hinata always thought that had he been a woman, he might have made a stunning Geisha and would have given Nayako competition. Today, he actually could give Nayako competition as she was dressed simply in a dark grey kimono, nothing fancy. Hinata was dressed similarly and sitting in the chair next to Nayako, her face a bit miserable after the hairdresser raked over her scalp to rid it of any signs of dandruff, but found most surprisingly, grass. The hairdresser's assistant, a shy and slightly overweight young man was attending to Hinata, but he kept having to pull on her hair, forcing Hinata to snap her head up as she was jolted awake by the tugging on her hair.

Nayako was looking at her maiko with interest and slight suspicion. She was almost positive that someone was in Hinata's room last night. And how on earth did she end up with grass in her hair? The assistant had whispered to her that it looked like lawn. There were slight dark circles around Hinata's eyes and the bruise that she had on the side of her face was almost glowing red, but was starting to give off a hint of blue and purple.

"I'm just a bit tired, is all, Nayako-san. Last night was a bit traumatic."

"Hmm. I suppose so..."

Hinata was hiding something, Nayako just knew it. She had been trying to keep her away from that blond brat Naruto, but now she wondered if she had been keeping Hinata away from the wrong person. She remembered running back to the teahouse last night after she heard that there was a commotion going on at the Ichimokari teahouse. She remembered someone grabbing her and pulling her into a dark alley. It had been Sasuke. His sword was at her throat before she even had time to react.

"Tell no one that I was here tonight or any other night."

She had been afraid to speak or even nod for fear that she accidentally slit her own throat against his sword. She had only let out a small squeak of assent. His blade had not cut her, but she could still feel the indentation on her neck. He had disappeared before she had the chance to say or do anything. When she got to the teahouse and saw the dead ninja on the ground, she knew instantly that Sasuke had killed him, but the sharp memory of his threat kept her from saying anything. Instead, she tried to deflect the attention onto Naruto. She really couldn't stand him and that demon inside of him. . .

Nayako had been shaken out of her musings by the hairdresser. He had finished styling her and was of course ready to discuss payment. Nayako dug her hands into the sleeves of her kimono to look for her little book that kept a record of the payments that the okiya would have to dish out to all the agents that helped geisha look like geisha – the hairstylist, the kimono designers, the dressers, etc; but the book was not on her.

"Do you have the book, Hinata?"

"No. You always keep it."

Nayako sighed. She must have forgotten it back at the okiya. She would have to go back and get it. She left on the promise that she would be back soon and started off towards the okiya. The okiya was situated only a few blocks away from the hairdresser and in no time at all Nayako was able to spot the high wall with decorative stones in the design of the okiya's crest – a crane in the river. She could see the tall pine trees that edged out the two story building. From here she could also see her room and Hinata's room, which were located on the eastern side of the compound on the second level. She wondered if she had left the book in her room or if Auntie had –

Nayako was suddenly alert. Something had moved in Hinata's bedroom. A light, a shadow, a human form; something, she was certain of it. She knew that someone had been in Hinata's room last night. It better had not be that little brat, Naruto, she thought.

Without a moment's thought she entered the compound, saw the clothes blowing in the morning sun and picked up a couple of grey tunics off the line that Hinata would wear in the morning to complete her chores. She briefly hoped that it was only a maid inside the room. She folded the clothes hurriedly and walked up the steps, past her room and down the corridor to Hinata's room. The door was closed. Maids were not allowed to close the door to a room they were cleaning. She knocked on the door.

It echoed through the room. There was a moment's silence then came to her ears the distinct sound of footsteps approaching the door, firm and confident. The door was opened, swiftly, and cleanly. Nayako had never seen her before. Standing before her was a little girl who looked to be of about ten years old. She was dressed in clothes that a maid could have worn – black pants, grey wrap around tunic over a white tank top; nothing outstanding. She did not have on a headband, but Nayako noticed the faint discolouration where bandages tied around her right thigh would be to support a kunai pack being strapped there. The little girl tried to fool her with her purposely heavy footsteps as well, but Nayako knew a ninja when she saw one.

Nayako looked at the girl apologetically, tapping into her long ago experience of when she was a maid.

"Good morning. Is Hinata-san in, please?"

There was a slight pause. The door was opened to its fullest extent.

"Yes, she is. Please come in, why don't you?"

For a fraction of a second, she hesitated. "No, thank you. Please be a dear and give her this?" She handed her the folded clothes, walked down the corridor and then down the steps until she reached outside the gates. She knew she was being watched, her heart pounded as she reached the steps.

Hanabi watched as Nayako hurried away from the room. With her Byakugan activated she could see that Nayako's heart rate was speeding up. Hanabi smirked. She had to give it to the geisha though. If it weren't for the Byakugan, she might never have known that Nayako was scared of her. The Geisha was cool, real cool and calm in her dealings. She wasn't expecting Nayako to knock on the door and she knew that Nayako was not taken in even though Hanabi had removed her headband and kunai pack. Yes, Hanabi concluded, that geisha was a sly one. Hanabi looked on through the walls at Nayako as she hurried down the streets, but she couldn't look at her for long; her eyes were beginning to ache again when she fed them chakra. Kurenai did a good patchwork job, but Hanabi knew that she had to go to a hospital soon to get checked up on about the poison that was probably still running in her veins. She might as well leave now anyway. Hinata kept no diary on her accounts of meeting either Sasuke or Naruto (for that was one of the reasons she was in Hinata's room) and she knew that Nayako would try to keep Hinata away from the okiya for a while, probably lie low with Hinata in some inn for a while. But Hanabi was not unduly worried. In a way, she supposed that now was not the right time to meet Hinata. She still had to eke out a plan, a proper one and for what she had in mind, she needed to go back to Konoha. Shino was suspicious of her and she still no one believed that she had killed that Kumo ninja at the Teahouse. Leaving and drawing attention away from Hinata would be a good thing because for now, she did not want anyone to know that she had discovered Hinata. Right now, if anyone knew that she had found Hinata, they just might ruin her plans.

Sasuke was thinking the same thing as he saw Hanabi climb out of Hinata's room that morning. Shit! He couldn't believe that Hanabi was here. First Naruto, now Hanabi! If he didn't look sharp he'd soon have the whole of Konoha coming to give Hinata a parade. Hanabi finding Hinata was about to ruin Sasuke's plans for Hinata. But what was really going on? Did Hinata know of Hanabi's presence? Did Hinata already know that she possessed the Byakugan? And then there was Naruto. How on earth did he know Hinata? Sasuke could only assume that the blond idiot had no idea that Hinata was a lost Hyuuga, or the little goody-goody two shoes would have packed off Hinata to Konoha by now. His ex-teammate seemed to have had some sort of close relationship with Hinata and Sasuke found that he did not like that. He did not like that one bit.

But he supposed that Naruto was no threat to his plans for Hinata. He was always inconsequential. But Hanabi was a threat. Hanabi was smart and knowing that little arrogant and ambitious Hyuuga, Sasuke was sure that Hanabi would be up to something, but what? He couldn't get rid of her in Kumo. It would draw too much attention to Kumo and Hinata and he didn't want that. Sasuke figured that the best thing he could do would be to sit and wait and watch. If things went in the direction that he didn't want, then he'd be forced to act. Hinata would be his and that was that.

Nayako was not stupid. She knew she had just come into contact with a Hyuuga ninja. The remnants of bandages tied around her thigh, her hand falling almost nonchalantly at her right side, but still on the ready in case she had to pull out a kunai, gave away the girl as a ninja. But it was her eyes that stood out. She had the same eyes as Hinata! But the little girl's eyes were different still. Yes, Hinata's eyes were more beautiful, but this little girl had eyes not of a wild animal with grinning savagery, nor the crazed fearfulness of a maniac, but this little girl had the pale eyed, expressionless look of the supreme efficiency of a killer. Nayako knew that if she had stepped into that room, there was a high possibility that she would have been killed. Such a young child had struck absolute fear into Nayako's heart as she realized what was happening.

They had come to get Hinata.

She walked briskly back to the hairdresser's, not daring to look back, not bothering to. Her mind was racing. Suddenly she spotted one of the maids from the okiya, carrying a bundle of flowers. She grabbed the girl in the middle of the street. The girl jumped as she let out a small squeak. Passersby pretended not to see, assuming that the girl had most likely done something to anger the beautiful woman.

"N-N-Nayako-san!"

"Listen to me! I want you to go back to the okiya and tell Auntie to make preparations for Hinata and me. Tell her to send everything to the Four Roads Inn. She'll understand and know what to do. You tell her this in confidence. Do you hear me! Whisper it to her! Do not write it down! Whisper it to Auntie. Hurry up now, child!" She let go of the trembling maid, but did not look back. She took quick, fluttering steps, eager to put distance between herself and the okiya. She felt as if Konoha was closing in on her. First Naruto, then Sasuke and now that Hyuuga. She had to leave and she had to take Hinata with her. She needed to get far from here and the best place she could think of was to go to Sand.

Damn it! She just remembered that she didn't get the pocketbook!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited - 2012 October 09**

* * *

Naruto cracked his neck, did a final stretch of his arms and felt his back pop as he finished a day of hard training. A cool breeze blew through the fields of the small village located only about fifty miles from the ninja Hidden Grass Village. He liked this village though. He felt that he could train freely without having suspicious eyes on him all the time. Ninja villages were always suspicious of other visiting ninja and in every town and Hidden village that he entered he knew that they kept a wary eye on him, just like they did with all their visitors.

It was nearing six o'clock and the sun was about to set. It was the middle of May and the sun had cast beautiful pink and orange streaks across the sky, leaving the town bathed in an iridescent golden rose glow. Despite the fact that it was spring time, the climate recently had been unduly hot and the grass turned a khaki-brown colour. Khaki brown grass generally does not give any signs of attractiveness, but Naruto had to disagree that at this point in time with the almost ethereally fair glow of the sunset, the grass now looked like a field of gold. It looked absolutely beautiful and whenever Naruto thought of beautiful, he thought of Hinata.

It had been about a month and a half since he had last seen Hinata and he quietly admitted to himself that he missed her. Despite their little...hmm, what word should he use...their 'disagreement' on sharing secrets, he found that this did not sway him from liking her. Rather, if anything, he found that he fancied her even more. He appreciated the fact that she was willing to accept that he had secrets and that she would wait for him to tell her in his own time, if ever he chose to do so. He often wondered if everyone could be like her. He didn't need to prove himself for her to like him. She encouraged him and believed in him based on pure faith in him alone. She didn't find him stupid and annoying, but she was patient and accepting of him. Where did she come from?! She couldn't be real, he reasoned. Hinata was gorgeous, smart _and_ understanding? Had his cup runneth over with good luck?

However, there were so many things that challenged him with her. For one thing, she lived in a completely different country from him. Could he really do the long distance? Right now he saw her every few months and it was already grating on him that he couldn't see her as often. He supposed it might be the same if he were with someone like say, Sakura. He and Sakura lived in the same village, but he supposed that there would be times when they might be away on missions for months at a time. Naruto snorted. More than likely if he was away on missions for months at a time Sakura would be on the same mission with him. She was his teammate after all. But Hinata was not a ninja and he was somewhat glad about that, though not in any sort of misogynistic way – he was sure that if by some cosmic fluke she was to end up a ninja she'd be very capable (but he knew that was not going to ever happen, so he did not give the idea much thought.) No, he liked that she had a relatively safe job in a Hidden Village. At least he _had_ thought it was safe, but now there were ninja being murdered in front of her, men trying to have their way with her. She seemed to attract danger judging by the fact that she had an admirer in the form of a teenager with a _demon_ inside of him. Why couldn't she have a safe job, like working in a stationery store or something, where her greatest occupational hazard was receiving a paper cut?

That led to another concern that rubbed him a bit of the wrong way – he didn't exactly feel comfortable knowing that she interacted on a daily basis with so many...men. He liked to believe that he wasn't the jealous type and he knew that she was someone whose virtue would always be truth, but he couldn't shake the feeling that...that what? That he was not the only man in her life? Well, duh! She was a geisha for crying out loud. That's what she did – entertain men! But he had a strange, niggling suspicion that not only was he _not_ the only man in her life, but he was probably not the most _important_ man in her life. He sincerely hoped that he was the _only_ man capturing her attention. But this thought also led to the obvious fact that he couldn't be with her at all because of her job. He wanted to be with her, but is that what he truly wanted? Did he really want to be her boyfriend? He knew he definitely wanted more than friendship with her alone. Did he really have the time to devote to being a boyfriend? He was not a normal teenager. Putting aside the whole I-have-a-demon-inside-me part, Naruto knew that his life was full of abnormal, non-teenager stuff like, hunting down rogue revenge-minded best friends who crossed over to the bad side and went to live with a power-hungry potential paedophile. Naruto wasn't sure, but he was almost certain that that was not the best circumstances under which he should start a relationship. He had a feeling that he'd be busy for the next few years. And besides, Nayako would rip him a new pair if he came within three feet of her maiko. That reminded him – maikos are not supposed to have boyfriends in the first place!

It was with these thoughts that Naruto strolled into the main part of the village. He didn't bother to look for Jiraiya who had disappeared from the field about an hour ago. He already knew that the Pervy-sage was either about to be chased from a spa or is already being chased from said spa. He'd find his perverted sensei by following the women's shrieking cries of 'Creep!' resounding in the air. He was glad however, that his sensei was able to still participate his perverted acts because just a couple of weeks ago Naruto damn nearly killed him when the Nine Tails' chakra leaked out to form the Four-Tails. It was an experience that he didn't want to relive. It only reminded him of how dangerous he truly was and until he gained control, he couldn't allow himself to be close to anyone, especially Hinata.

Though his mind was far he soon noticed that most of the small town's inhabitants were on the streets, whispering delightedly, their necks craning to see further down the road. Did something happen? Naruto focused his attention and looked further down the road. His mind had to have been really far for him to miss what was directly in front of him. He reckoned that his mind was miles away in another dimension because it was almost impossible not to notice the stunning geisha walking just fifty yards ahead of him.

He could see only her back, but from the hairstyle he could tell that she was a maiko. The elaborate kimono also gave it away. She wore a Byzantium purple coloured kimono with embroidered designs of silver waves and a heavy silk brocade maru obi, yellow in colour with patterns of clouds on it. She was a colourful rebuke to the villagers dressed in their dull and varying shades of brown and grey. It was easy to be transfixed by the beauty that the geisha represented and Naruto was completely taken in. Heads turned and eyes obediently followed. He was so hypnotized that he almost did not notice that the geisha had her left hand on the right shoulder of a middle aged man. He appeared to be leading her down the street for she seemed to have trouble seeing. Wait a minute! Hinata? Naruto looked with keener interest to see the man stop, gesticulate that this was where she wanted to go and she paid her thanks by giving him a faint bow. When she turned to go into the shop Naruto could clearly see that it truly was Hinata.

He couldn't believe his luck. Here he was thinking about her and just like that she appeared, like a vision! He hurried over to the shop without really noticing that he was entering a flower shop. She looked a lot taller and then he noticed that she was wearing her eight inch high platform okobo sandals. She looked so different from when he last saw her which was at night and her hair was down and wet, her face had a large bruise, that light green tee-shirt that did nothing for her. She still looked very pretty then and she looked even prettier now. But what was she doing here? And where was that bitch, Nayako?

Hinata was standing at one of the stalls and talking to the shop assistant. Naruto moseyed on over there real casual, trying to think of something cool and suave to say. Only he couldn't think of anything. No clever compliments. No amusing innuendos. No flashy remarks.

"Heeey." He said, thinking that he _had_ to do better than that. That had to be his dorkiest moment ever. He already knew her! Since when was he a bumbling moron in front of her? Since when was he _not_, he thought cynically.

Hinata looked up to see Naruto standing there and for a second she thought, 'Good Lord, I've gone blind and now the only thing I can see is Naruto since I think about him all the time; not too bad a vision.'

"N-Naruto?"

"Hinata!" Oh thank heavens, he had found back his voice and he didn't sound like a five year-old girl, he silently breathed.

It was definitely Naruto, she thought. No vision of hers could be that ear-splittingly loud.

"Naruto! W-w-what are you doing here?"

"Eh, travelling." He was trying to sound cool, but then he realized that he must have sounded curt, so he started to continue, "Well, I've been here and there, more there than here really." What the hell was he even talking about?! What was the matter with him?! Why was he so nervous in front of her? Hinata, being Hinata, of course smiled sweetly at Naruto's verbal diarrhoea. Naruto cleared his throat. "So, what are you doing here in this village?"

"Oh, um, about a month and a half ago Nayako suddenly says that we should do a bit of touring. She says that we're heading somewhere but she refuses to tell me where. She only says that we're heading south. We're staying at this village for the weekend. Are you buying flowers for someone?"

Am I buying flowers for someone? What an odd question he thought and was about to ask why she'd ask that when he suddenly remembered that he was standing in a flower shop. Whew, kunai dodged. He just avoided complete embarrassment there. _It's still early_, he heard the Kyuubi mischievously chuckle, which he chose to ignore.

"You, of course. I saw you and thought that you'd probably like some flowers." He smiled brightly at his nice save and looked over at the display that he'd been standing next to. The small sign said 'Baby's breath.' "How about these, huh?" He smiled enthusiastically at her.

She leaned in closer to inspect the flower.

"Baby's breath? They typically use it in funeral wreaths."

Her face was blank. Was she joking? Please say that she's joking. She wasn't joking. There was an awkward pause and from the corner of his eye Naruto could see the shop assistant shaking her head in dismay. He could also clearly hear the Kyuubi's snorts of laughter at his host's feeling of shame.

"You should take me the vet and just end it right now. Take me out of my misery." He said dejectedly and she laughed. It was a smile that could melt the snow capped mountains. He looked up and saw her eyes squinty as she laughed and suddenly he felt a lot more comfortable. This was Hinata. He knew her as more than just as an insanely beautiful Geisha. She was his friend. Possible girlfriend? He cleared his throat and shook that thought out of his head.

"So, you're here alone?"

Hinata smiled at his unspoken question.

"You can relax, Nayako-san's not here with me."

"Oh thank God! I can't stand that lady!"

"I lied, she's right behind you."

"What!" Naruto spun around, his arms already in a defensive position when he heard Hinata giggling. His body visibly relaxed when he turned back to her with a look of amused exasperation. "Oho, you have jokes, eh? You're not ready for one of my pranks, you know."

"Would you really prank a poor, helpless, blind Geisha?" She pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes in exaggeration and Naruto laughed. He liked that she was becoming more comfortable enough with him to be able to joke like that unabashedly. She was suddenly a lot more serious as she turned her head towards the flowers in front of her. "You know, Nayako's not that bad."

"She took one look at me and thought that I was the one that tried to attack you back then." He said evenly. He was going for calm with a hint of outrage.

"I know, but it's only because she cares about me."

"Do you think that she cares about you...or about the money you make?" He was still trying to be calm. He did not want to upset her.

"It may look like that...You know, I can't remember anything before I was five years old. I fell into a river and hit my head. Nayako was the one that pulled me out of the river...I owe my life to her. She's similar to me too. She started off as a maid in the okiya. Only daughters born to Geisha are allowed to train in the Geisha arts from when they are young. She doesn't speak much of her past; she only says that she suffered a lot. She's like soap in the water when it comes to her past – very slippery. I think that she wants me to succeed the way she has succeeded. She does care for me, even if she has a funny way of showing it. She only wants the best for me. She's like family, like an actual big sister."

Naruto said nothing for a moment. He studied her; her words struck something within him.

"After I had my last battle with Mr. B at the Valley of the End, Pervy-sage told me that he had a friend that was similar to my Mr. B. He said that he had to give up that friend because he was a lost cause. He told me that I was foolish for always trying to see the best in people, when clearly they are hopeless. I didn't listen to him, obviously, I'm still here chasing after Mr. B. I think that you and I are similar in those respects. We're always willing to see more than what's on the surface, always willing to dig deep to find the good in people. I like that about you. You have a lot of...what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Tenacity?"

Naruto nodded, pretending that he knew what that word meant and Hinata smiled softly knowing that he didn't. "Stubbornness, resolve." She whispered the synonyms.

"Yes, yes." He nodded with a lot more vigour now that he understood what she meant.

"It might be our downfall." She looked him in the eye when she said it and he returned her gaze. For a brief moment he saw his whole life in her eyes.

"It just might be."

He smiled. Sometimes when he spoke to Hinata he was reduced to a bumbling moron floundering in the sea of his own ignorance and dorkiness. And sometimes when he spoke to her he felt as if she made him a better man, a more mature person. A thought suddenly struck him.

"Wait a minute! Am I not the best for you then?" The question was out of his mouth before he even had the chance to recognize what he was saying. He avoided Hinata's gaze, but from the corner of his eyes he could see that a fierce blush had spread through her makeup. He had put her in such an awkward position with that question! She didn't look up, but had focused her attention on her hands which were doing their weird nervous tapping tic.

"N-N-Nayako doesn't think so. . . b-b-b-but I don't necessarily agree with her."

His eyebrows shot in the air in surprise. She spoke so low that he could hardly hear her, but he figured that now was not the time to ask her to speak up seeing as how she now resembled one of the red roses in the shop. A broad, self-satisfied grin spread across Naruto's face. He was number one! Ha! Though what did that matter? It was not like he could do anything about that right now anyway. He decided to come to her rescue and change the topic.

"So, what ya doing in this flower shop?"

"Huh? Oh, um yes," She grabbed hastily and desperately onto his conversational lifesaver, "I'm not just travelling with Nayako. The hairdresser, two maids, the dresser, the kanzashi artisan and two nin are all travelling with us. The artisan needed some flowers, so I volunteered to get them for him."

There were lot of things about that statement that Naruto needed to question.

"Okay, firstly, why are you travelling with nin?"

"Protection. Though, they're there not so much to protect Nayako and me, but more so the kimonos that we're carrying." Naruto looked at her attire and realized that right now Hinata's clothes most likely cost more than all the flowers in the shop. Her obi alone, made of silk brocade, cost more than what he made in a year. It was a stark and rich reminder of just how hard he would have to work if he wanted to be her danna and clear her debts in his self-imposed timeline of five years.

"Hmm, okay. And what's a kanzashi artisan?"

"He designs the kanzashi for my hair. We must change the designs every month."

He looked up at her hair and there embedded in her elaborate Wareshinobu hairdo were ornaments that ranged from simple oval-shaped combs to pins up to ten inches long with trailing inches of silk folded to create flowers. One of the kanzashi was made of silver in a design of a phoenix at the end of a ten inch stick, its tail feathers dangling, jingling as she moved. There were two such pins in her hair. How could he not notice them before? She could poke his eye out with one false move. He looked at her and thought that she looked stunning. She was the living example of romantic dreams. All of the flowers in the shop paled in comparison to her. Yet, despite the showy siren beauty, he knew that behind the makeup and the clothes and the accessories, she was another beauty. She was a pale violet – shy and delicate as petals, beautiful, but subtly enchanting. She was beauty, in all of its forms. He wished that he was eloquent enough to say what he thought. Instead he cleared his throat and muttered,

"'s nice." He cleared his throat again. The Kyuubi snorted at his host's feeling of inadequacy. "Anyway, um, what do you mean you have a dresser? What does she do exactly?"

"_He_," she gently corrected him while Naruto's heart plunged to the ground.

"_HE_? What do you mean '_he_?' What does _he_ do? Who is this '_he_'?" He knew how he sounded. He sounded like a jealous husband dressed in a wife-beater suspicious of the air around his wife because she took a bit long at the market. But it was too late now for dignity and false nonchalance. He needed to know who was this '_he'_. Hinata inwardly smiled at Naruto and with complete and genuine innocence she said,

"The dresser helps me take off my clothes."

"What! Is something wrong with your hands? Why can't you take off your clothes on your own? In your room? With the door locked? Away from him and any other too helpful males?"

"Is something the matter?"

"Uh? No, no. Nothing's wrong with me. I am fine. I just thought that as a dresser he'd help you keep your clothes _on_, not help to take if off." He muttered the last part, trying, and failing to achieve an air of false dismissive flippancy as he said it.

"Actually, he ties and unties my obis. They're made of silk brocade and are too heavy for a woman to lift or to tie properly at the back. My obi will stretch the length of this flower shop and tying it is a skill. He does that in addition to helping me into my kimonos and folding them into the right shape with the appropriate pleats. I...appreciate your concern."

Now it was his turn to blush. She wore a slight smile, but it was the smile she reserved for her other clients. He had seen it before; it lacked passion and could probably re-freeze the snow on those snow capped mountains. He was somewhat surprised by her. A lot of women mistook jealousy for love, but though he shared in it, he knew it for what it was – a destructive auto-immune disease that attacks the mind and heart. He suffered from it and Sasuke too. He realized that he had just insinuated that she was un-virtuous with the dresser, a statement which was offensive, irrelevant and untrue. It amazed him sometimes the speed at which he was able to go from maturing philosopher to insensitive prat. He attempted an apology.

"Hinata..." He got as far as that as he looked down at his shoes for the right words to say.

"It's alright. Everybody has jealousy inside of them. It's an instinct. Even animals have it and they say that man is also an animal."

"That's what I'm afraid of." He muttered to the silent smirk of the Kyuubi while Hinata furrowed her brows at his statement, but he showed no signs of elaborating on it. She decided to follow his lead for the meanwhile and not venture onto that topic without his invitation.

Her statement had made him pull back, though not physically. He walked with her around the flower shop as she chose trailing purple wisteria and blue flag irises. They talked in general about the events that happened on their travels so far. He spoke and sounded like the Naruto that she knew – casual, loud, joking, silly; but he kept her at arm's length. She wondered whether he knew that she was more in tuned to his emotions and expressions that even he was. She was on the same wavelength as him, but he never considered it because of years of unwanted loneliness. He never thought that there would be someone that could identify with him and understand him, who _cared_ to understand him.

They stepped out of the flower shop a bit later with him holding the flowers and with her on his arm. It was dark, the village considerably quieter than the Kumo and Konoha nightlife that they were used to. Only a few people were out and about though it was only a bit after seven. The moon rose high in the sky. As he glimpsed down the alleys and side streets he saw that the grassy fields that surrounded the village was illuminated by the moonlight, the wind making them shimmer like the ocean at night. Naruto was about to point out that the fields looked like the sea when he remembered her poor sight. She was clutching onto him and moving at a rate that snails considered slow. Her eyesight seemed to have gotten even worse.

"Hey, are you getting blinder?" Naruto; always a master of sensitivity and tact. She stiffened a bit.

"I apologize to be a burden onto you. Please forgive me."

"What? No. You're not a burden. You'll never be. I just noticed that you seem to have a lot more trouble moving around."

"Yes. My sight's gotten a bit worse." She did not add that the morning after the Incident at the teahouse her eyesight had deteriorated at an alarming rate. She was now reduced to seeing foggy blurs. She suspected it had something to do with her mysterious change in vision, when she saw in shades of blue and grey, but it had happened so quickly she was unsure whether she had imagined it all. That night was still so surreal to her.

"Oh. So how come you came out here all alone?" Naruto asked only because he knew it was a logical follow up to what she said, but he knew that she was not alone. He remembered her saying that the nin were there to protect the kimonos that she travelled with, so why were the two of them silently keeping tabs on her? He said nothing, only quietly marking their presence in the shadows. Was she in some sort of danger?

"I don't want to depend on anyone. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. But it looks like I may not be right about that."

"What? You reached to the flower shop and back, didn't you?"

"Not on my own."

"Well, succeeding doesn't mean doing things on your own. It means being smart enough to accept help when necessary. It means being resourceful, Hinata."

"Resourceful? I sure am being resourceful hanging onto your shoulder." She mumbled, but surprisingly he had heard her. He stopped and turned her to look at him.

"Hey, why are you sounding like that? Just because you're going blind doesn't mean you've lost everything."

"I know. I just feel so useless. I . . . I wish I were more like you."

"Wha-?"

"Never mind. Please forget I said anything."

"No, no. Please say what you going to say, Hina."

He had shortened her name! She looked up at him and though she could not see him properly she could tell that he was smiling at her.

"You– You're everything I wish that I could be." She blurted out. Lord was she weak for him! She had no intention of saying that to him, but something about Naruto made her say things that she wouldn't normally say. She didn't know if that was due to some familiarity she found in him or whether it had to do with an inability to hold her tongue when necessary. It was too late to stop now, so she forced on with what she had to say.

"I'm not just talking about having your perfect vision. I'm talking about you, as a ninja and as a person." She was speaking hurriedly as if trying to get out what she had to say as quickly as possible. "I want to be strong and confident like you. I want to do great things. I want amazing moments like what you have. Your strength and courage inspires me, but when the time comes I fail and fall to the moment. But you, you are braver, stronger and smarter than most believe and you do what needs to be done whether it can be done at all.

"The night of the attack – I wish that I could have done something. I didn't do anything great, except..." She trailed off uncertainly, unsure how to explain to him that she had entered a period of shock then where she saw in new colours and spectrums. "I did nothing. And now my sight mocks me, worsening as if to remind me of my futility. You would have done something. You would have acted. I wish that I were like you. I wish that I had the confidence to be great. But I'm not like you. I only wish I were. I wish that I could walk beside you deservingly because I lo–" She ended it before she told him all the secrets of her heart. She couldn't believe that she just said all of those things to him. She wanted to sink her head into her kimono. She didn't dare look up at him.

Naruto was silent. Even the Kyuubi was silent at the little bunny, for that was what the demon-fox referred to Hinata – he saw her as prey. Naruto had no idea how to respond to something like that. It was the single biggest compliment he had ever received and it momentarily floored him. Saying a simple thank you was almost insultingly inadequate. Instead, he stood there with a stunned expression looking as if he was suffering from a case of just woke up or just got hit in the head. His silence unfortunately did not speak volumes, but his seconds spanned eternities. Shame welled up inside of Hinata. His unresponsiveness was harder than any slap that she ever received. She hiked up her kimono and casually slipped out of her sandals. It was all she could think to do. She ran, not seeing where she was going; only knowing to avoid the blotted outline of objects and the lean, squiggly figures that represented people.

Her sudden movement shook Naruto out of his solemn inaction and he took off after her, but was suddenly stopped by one of the Kumo nin standing directly in his path. He reminded Naruto a bit of Kakashi-sensei with his lankiness, wayward hair and his lidded eyes. But this ninja with his straw blond hair was nowhere near as old as Kakashi-sensei, Naruto concluded, only about seventeen, he assumed. Somewhere Kakashi was heard muttering that he wished people would put down the coffin catalogue and stop taking his pulse. He was not _that_ old!

"That's enough, kid. Go no further." Naruto looked around the ninja and saw that the other ninja had picked up Hinata in his arms and in one leap they were out of his sight.

"Hinata!"

"Don't worry, she's safe. Our business is to protect her."

"I thought you were protecting the kimonos."

"That's what she thinks, but there are people hunting her for what she has." Naruto scrunched up his nose at that. Why did Hinata need protection? What did she have that everyone would want? And why was this ninja telling him his mission? Was he going for some kind of ninja to ninja rapport? He shrugged it off. He supposed that someone as good-looking as her tempted all kinds.

"Listen, I have to go after her, so either you move right now or I make you move."

The ninja smiled. He was not in the mood to fight anyone, let alone an overly cocky kid who reminded him of himself and who was holding two bunches of flowers as if they were kunai. Death by pollen. He had looked on at the kid's interaction with Hinata-chan with an amused bewilderment. He remembered when he was that age trying to talk to girls, his out of control hormones sabotaging him. He liked the kid. It wasn't easy talking to girls at this age, girls who were already light-years ahead of the boys in terms of maturity. He was nineteen and was only just catching up to someone like Nayako who was only twenty-two! Nayako. There was little he wouldn't do to be with her for just one night; okay fine, an hour. Alright fine! He just needed a half hour tops!

Anyway, he felt sorry for the kid. The kid obviously wasn't the brightest, but he seemed to have struck a note with Hinata-chan. He liked Hinata. She was an absolute bleeding heart, the sweetest anyone will ever meet. What's not to like about her? He'd give the kid a chance.

"I don't want to fight you, kid." Naruto looked suspiciously at the ninja. "Listen, I'll do you a favour. I like Hinata-chan and I don't want to see her upset. I suppose that if she likes you, you can't be too bad, no? So, I'll give you a chance. Give her a little breathing room, let her calm down, let her scrape her heart back up off the ground. Check her back a bit later at the Silver Dollar Inn and we'll turn a blind eye. I'm not telling you the room number. I don't want to make it too easy for you. If you accidentally run into Nayako's room it'll be your ass to catch." With that he disappeared in a swirl of misty clouds.

Naruto stood there motionless for a second. Did he just get himself a free pass?

Hinata tried to keep her emotions to herself. It would be relatively easy; she simply had to pretend that she was dancing. When she danced all emotion was safely tucked away, the face impassive as granite. She returned with the ninja, who was a close and personal friend of Nayako's, though surprisingly Nayako asked her nothing as to why she was so late. She ate dinner with everyone. She apologized profusely for not getting the flowers. She played a board game with Nayako and the hairdresser. Afterwards, she retired to her room claiming fatigue. The dresser, a respectable man in his thirties, came to untie her obi. A maid came in next to take her kimono for proper cleaning. Dressed still in her red under-kimono, Nayako came in and took off Hinata's make-up and then left her to her bath. It was a typical night, except for the fact that Hinata's heart was breaking from embarrassment.

She returned from the bathroom, her eyes puffy and a bit dark from crying. She wished that she could take back her words, but words were like feathers left on the doorstep. But Naruto had had no words that he wished to take back for he had said nothing. He begged her to open up to him, then he said nothing, not even a nod of recognition to her feelings. She may not have said the words that she wanted to say the most, but she didn't need to. With that speech he already knew how she felt about him, but he said nothing. And it hurt like nothing else. She felt so foolish. But what did she expect? Did she want him to say, "I understand how you feel, Hinata. I too feel a connection to you and I love you." She snorted. Yeah. Right. And then he'd whisk her off into the sunset to his homeland. Uh huh. Naruto was kind and helpful and friendly to her, but that was it. She had misread too much into his actions. She supposed that was to be expected since she could barely see.

She woke with a start with all of the bizarre facial expressions and stunned appearance that comprises. The time on the clock wall glowed fluorescent in the dark and said three minutes after midnight. It was not that dark in her room; the moonlight was streaming in waves through the open window. Just like last time she knew that there was someone in her room. She flung herself up, but was not too surprised to see Naruto standing there at the window.

"How do you do that? How do you know that I entered your room?"

She ignored his question.

"What are you doing here? You have to stop doing this."

Her voice was a bit cold and Naruto winced. She was angry, not sad anymore. She unnerved him. An angry Hinata was like a bunny with fangs. It was highly disconcerting.

"You forgot your flowers and your okobo." He said lamely as if she could forget that she had left her shoes. She was not Cinderella.

"Thank you."

He placed the sandals in a corner, but didn't know what to do with the flowers. The room was simply decked out with a futon with a soft pad on a raised stand that substituted for a pillow; a wardrobe and a desk that was situated behind her against the wall. To put the flowers on the desk he'd have to get past her, but he didn't want to cross her in any manner. He tentatively handed her the flowers. She took them, looked at them with interest for a second then as politely as she could have, let them fall onto the futon behind her. Naruto winced. Bunny with fangs and claws.

"Okay, I know you're angry with me. But –"

"Were you going to imply that I do not reserve the right to be?"

"No, no. Not at all." She was speaking to him with that formal tone that she used for her other clients. It irked him, but he knew that he was in the wrong. He tried to stifle the annoyance, but the Kyuubi thrived on feelings like that. "About what you said earlier, all I'm saying is that I wasn't expecting that. I didn't know that...that you felt that way."

Her anger deflated instantly and ballooned again into sadness mixed with shame. She wished that he would say that he didn't like her as more than a friend and then leave. Get it over with.

"It's not that I don't –" He cut himself off, unsure of how he was supposed to finish that sentence anyway. "I've never really had anyone say something like that to me before. You have a lot of faith in me and you see me in a way that not all the time I see myself."

"You? But you're so sure of yourself."

"There's a side of me that you don't know."

"I think that I do know. I saw a g-glimpse of it earlier. You have a side of you that is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment and inferiority – all the bad things. It's a side that we all have, but s-somehow you think that you have it more than others. The other side is good. That side is courage, trust, love, hope, modesty, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. You try to show only the good side, b-but I…I see all of you."

Naruto stood there again dumbfounded. He was like glass in front of her.

"I don't _think_ that I have all of that. I _do_ have all the bad things inside of me. Do you hate me for it?" He asked, terrified of the answer.

"I don't hate you." She wore a ghost of a smile. He stepped forward a bit.

"You fear me because of it?"

"I don't fear you." He stepped forward again.

"You pity me?"

"Definitely not." He stepped forward again until he was close enough to see the lavender in her eyes.

"You make me want to be the worst and the best kind of man. I mean, all this time I've been trying to be careful around you, trying not to hurt you. But right now, right now I feel like nothing matters. I feel like I should stop thinking about consequences, just be selfish and that's horrible. Yet, you make me want to be better. With you."

She didn't know whether to be insulted or flattered by a speech like that. She decided to take it as a compliment. She knew that her face was starting to feel the heat from him being so near to her. He moved forward two inches and her breasts were now pressed up against him. She was surprised that she didn't knock him back with the sheer force of her beating heart. She knew what was coming with startling self-consciousness and all she could think of was, please don't faint.

When he kissed her he absently wondered whether she would faint again. He had worked out that he was the cause behind all the fainting and the blushing. He kissed her gently and softly for only a few seconds and pulled back to check that she hadn't stiffened and died upright. Her eyes were closed, but her face was pink and there was a slight tremble to her body. Her body. He looked down and for the first time noticed that all she had on was a dangerously thin night dress with thin straps. It might as well have been a slip. Was it a slip?

Boldly, she reached out and placed her trembling hand on his face. She looked up at him wondering if that was all. He took her expression as an invitation. He pulled her even closer in an attempt to fuse them together and kissed her gently at first. He wanted to take it slowly with her, but then – she was so close, the material of the cloth only a thin barrier to what lay beneath – kissing a lot harder – her hands moving across his back – his hands moving down her back – a moan escaping – he responds with a growl – they falling into the bed – the scent of crushed flowers lingering in the air – her skin is so soft – her left leg is wrapped around him – his tongue on her lips – a small bite – his tongue on her chin – on her neck – his hands on her left breast – another moan – another growl – a bit too rough – his mouth on her neck – a love bite – too rough – her nails dig into his back – she calls him name – no answer – more desperately this time – you're hurting me.

Naruto pulled off Hinata to see her face white with horror. He had bitten her! That spot where her shoulder meets her neck was now red with blood. He could barely understand anything when suddenly he heard the Kyuubi laughing his dark, deep, frightful laugh. He staggered back from her, his hand over his mouth in horror at what he had done.

"Naruto, it's all right." She tried to tell him, but he wasn't hearing her. The wound was not that deep, but it bled like crazy. He looked different. Just then his canines were longer and his eyes had a dark, yellow colour. His whisker-like marks looked more like claw scratchesr. It was only for a moment and she wondered whether she had imagined it. But now, now he looked like he'd seen a ghost. His face was the colour of alabaster – white with a hint of green and he looked disgusted, but not at her, at himself.

"Naruto, it's okay. You didn't hurt me. Naruto,"

She made to get up off the bed, but he pulled back from her as if she was dangerous to the touch. In an instant he was gone. It didn't take her long to realize all his side comments, all the figurative speeches were actually literal. He really did have the worst in him. She finally realized that he was quite possibly a Jinchuuriki.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited - 2012 October 09**

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"Oh you're back. Good. Don't be afraid to go into details – size, texture, colour." Jiraiya said, nearly squealing with excitement when he saw Naruto open the door to the room they shared at the Heavenly Purity Inn. It was about a half hour after midnight and though Jiraiya was not expecting Naruto to be back so soon, he still sat up in bed as he anticipated all the potentially pornographic details that occurred between Naruto and his cute, little Geisha girlfriend, Hinata.

Naruto looked at his sensei and was surprised that the man was able to finish his sentence given the glare that he was receiving. But if death glares were to stop Jiraiya from his love for perversion he would be dead a million times over, good enough to be a paleontological find. Nonetheless, Jiraiya realized that something was wrong with his student. He expected outrageous shouting at such an indecent suggestion for details, but all he got was a fiery glower that Naruto didn't seem to have the energy to maintain for very long.

"What's the matter, kid? Listen, sometimes with the nerves and the excitement, some men (not me of course) sometimes they just can't get their boys to come up and play. I mean, it happens to the best of us, not me of course, but you...you're a young kid and you're excited, maybe too excited –"

"Please. Stop. Talking." Naruto said as he fell face first onto his bed; his voice muffled by the pillow.

Jiraiya realized that all attempts at jokes would be futile. He waited a moment before he addressed Naruto.

"What happened?"

"I lost control."

"When you say you 'lost control', exactly what do you mean?"

"I had a minor transformation." There was a brief pause before Jiraiya spoke.

"Hmmph. Right, well, we'll need a shovel and some disinfectant –"

"What the hell! What did you think I did?" Naruto shot up as he looked at his sensei with confusion and outrage.

"What are we talking about here, exactly?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said that you had a minor transformation? How many tails did you go up to? I mean, is she..." Jiraiya struggled, reluctant to bring up the most obvious question.

"You think that I killed her? I didn't kill her! And what kind of sicko bastard would I be if I did that only to come back here just like that after I supposedly killed my girlfriend?"

"So she is your girlfriend? Earlier you didn't want to say anything."

Naruto threw up his hands in frustration. "Oh my God! I can't talk to you!"

"Why not? I think I have proven myself as a good friend. I was willing to help you move a body!"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya with pure exasperation and then resignation.

"Come on, tell me what happened. I happen to have a lot of experience with the ladies."

"That experience usually carries a restraining order." Naruto muttered as he lay back down on the bed. With a heavy sigh, he continued. "So we were kissing –"

"What kind of kissing, what was she wearing?"

Naruto turned around and sat up on his elbows to give his sensei a fierce look.

"What?! I just wanted to get an accurate portrait of what it is you were dealing with."

"You are on a need to know basis only."

"Listen, I'm being objective, really. You never know, maybe the type of material set you off, like an allergy or something."

"Really?" Naruto looked at him with genuine interest, his curiosity piqued. _Damn, this kid is gullible_, Jiraiya thought.

"Yeah, really. Now, what did she have on?"

"It looked like some kinda black slip."

"What material?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure. It could be silk, I think. Or was it lace? I'm not sure. It was pretty. It was thin."

"Hmm. Maybe it was her bra then? Or did she have on bindings instead?"

"Well, she didn't have on bra, I think, not from what – hey! What's with the notebook? What the hell are you writing?" Naruto practically launched himself off the bed, ready to grab the book out of Jiraiya's hands.

"I'm simply taking notes, Naruto. I mean, the more we document this is the better chance we have at finding out exactly what triggers this." Naruto nodded, satisfied with Jiraiya's explanation. Jiraiya silently congratulated himself on his quick thinking. This material would be excellent for his Icha Icha books. _She had on the type of dress a man would like all women to wear – an unfussy slip that in one movement it would be on the floor_. Yes, yes, Jiraiya liked that line. It was definitely going in the Icha Icha books."Go on," He nodded sagely at Naruto as he attempted not to look like his usual perverted self, but like an understanding sensei. Naruto sat back down on the bed.

"Well, um, we were kissing..."

"What kind of kissing?"

Naruto's face burned up. He felt really awkward having to tell Jiraiya these things. Sure, this was his sensei, but what happened between him and Hinata were personal. He decided to skip over some details.

"Look, it's only when she cried out that I was hurting her, I realized that the Kyuubi was trying to take over. I didn't go into any chakra cloak or anything like that. But it could have been a lot worse if she didn't call out to me when she did. My teeth grew a little longer, my eyes changed colour."

"When she said that you were hurting her, what did she mean? What did you do?" Jiraiya had put down the notebook now and was staring intently at Naruto.

"I bit her."

"And you're sure that you didn't have the Nine-Tails chakra leaking out?"

"I didn't go up to any tails, I said."

"Are you sure? Naruto, listen to me. Are you sure that you didn't infect Hinata with any of the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"No, I'm sure."

"Good."

Naruto looked at his sensei, who had started back to write in his notebook, studiously avoiding Naruto's eyes. Something wasn't right, Naruto thought, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It seemed like Jiraiya was genuinely concerned about the safety of Hinata, but it also appeared to be more than that...

"Is there something that you needed to tell me?"

Jiraiya looked up at his young student, who was almost the splitting image of Minato, but with Kushina's personality and he thought; _yeah, lots_. But now was not the right time. Instead he said,

"Get up. Take off your jacket and lift up your tee-shirt. I want to see that seal."

Naruto complied, deciding to put aside his suspicions that his sensei knew something that he didn't, concluding that there were probably _lots_ that his sensei knew and he didn't. Naruto knew that he was not the brightest.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said to the boy's stomach as he fed chakra into his fingers to highlight the markings of the seal, "as a teenager, you're going to have to learn something about control. Putting aside the fact that you have the Nine-Tails inside of you, you're still a normal, hormonal, teenage boy. If the Kyuubi didn't come out of ya, something else might've." He said with a wink and Naruto rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance. "I'm serious! Every time that you've had the Kyuubi leak out is during a time of extreme rage. You've never been in a highly sexual situation before, so your guard was lowered, and also the seal was not fixed properly by me the last time. My bad, but in my defence I was trying to re-seal you while I had a hole in my chest. There." Jiraiya proclaimed as he removed his hand from Naruto's stomach and kanji and spirals stopped glowing on Naruto's abs.

Naruto felt that heavy feeling of failure again, but Jiraiya saw it and stepped up to intercept it.

"Look, you don't have anything to worry about. The seal was a bit weak and we both know that the Nine Tails will look for any opportunity to escape. As you get older, your control with regards to your anger and lust will get better. You need to meditate too. Emotional balance is something that all ninja aspire to."

"He does try to escape, you know." Naruto said as if he hadn't heard Jiraiya. "When I start to feel any kind of negative emotion or any sort of _extreme_ emotion, he tries to feed into that and twist it."

"Like jealousy, rage and uncontrollable lust?"

"Yep. I hate him. He's needling me right now. He has the worst attitude ever. Right now he's like, 'Well, sure I tried to kill your girlfriend, but you're the one who won't let me out to wreak havoc and kill thousands.' You have no idea what living with this...this...demon is like. You know how people talk about having a devil and an angel on their shoulders when they have a tough decision to make? Well, I have no angel with me. It's just all devil, all the time. I'm tired. I get close to people and then..."

Jiraiya considered Naruto, whom had slunk back onto the bed, and he could tell that this would be Naruto's entire life – the struggle to surpass the Kyuubi. He realized in that moment that Naruto was a lot stronger than he looked. It could never be easy to live fourteen years in the face of temptation and continually resist it. What happened with Hinata was Naruto's biggest fear – that that was what he was afraid would happen, and hoped wouldn't happen, and feels silly for not realizing that it would inevitably happen: that he would somehow hurt her.

"She's good for you, you know. There are things that you need to work on, yes, but she...she's good for you. She's a good fit for you." Jiraiya said with earnest emotion. It was impossible not to remember Minato and Kushina in a moment like this. Just as how Minato balanced out Kushina, Hinata would balance out Naruto. All things balanced out in the end.

"I just really didn't want to hurt her, but I don't think it's just me. I think that she has some sort of danger magnet on her. You know, she told me that she can't remember anything before she was five because she fell into a river and smashed her head on a rock on something. And then just a couple of months ago some pervert, no offense –"

"None taken."

"...tried to rape her. And now she has a bloody demon-fox trying to go all Nine Tails on her. Maybe I should wrap up Hina in bubble wrap."

"I'm going to ignore that serial killer statement and say that I think that she's quite safe as a geisha. She'll probably be safer than if she were a ninja. She's fragile. I don't think that she'd make a great ninja anyway."

"And why not?" Naruto sat up, for no apparent reason there was a hint of outrage on his features.

"Honestly, do you think she could harm anyone?"

Like a popped balloon, Naruto's fiery outrage deflated instantly and he flopped back onto the bed. He didn't bother to respond. He already knew the answer to that question – Hinata could not hurt an ant. He knew that Hinata was probably safest living in one of the strongest ninja villages, in a relatively safe job. Maybe that bite was the last contact she'd have with any sort of danger. Now he wondered if that was the last time _he_ would have any contact with _her_. Now that he thought about it, running off on her like that was extraordinarily douchey.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Naruto abruptly sat up in bed as both he and Jiraiya looked at the door.

"I think I have an idea of who that is. If you see me getting my ass kicked, don't step in. I deserve it." Naruto said as he got up to answer the door.

"You moron!"

Naruto was correct in his assumptions. He knew that as soon as he opened the door he would have received a greeting like that from the lanky ninja with the straw blond hair who was given the task of protecting Hinata.

"I gave you a chance and you messed up everything. Hinata calls me in to help her bandage a bite mark! A bite mark! Who the hell bites someone? What are you a frigging vampire bat! Nayako is going to wear my skin when she finds out what happened. And what's worse is that you run off like a little bitch! Are you a bitch, kid? Are you?"

Naruto hoped that was a rhetorical question as his eyes focused on the floor. The ninja seemed to be in a spit-fire rage even though with his heavily lidded eyes he looked sleepy to the point of seeming lethargic in his abuse. For a brief moment Naruto was reminded of that old coffin-dodger, Kakashi-sensei.

"She likes you. With some kind of completely unfounded logic she sees something in you that she likes and there's nothing that Nayako or myself can do to change her mind, no matter how much we try."

"Uh huh." Naruto muttered as he sweat-dropped. There was a moment as the ninja took a deep breath and visibly tried to calm himself.

"Why did you run out on her?"

"I panicked."

"What? You don't usually bite girls in the middle of the night and then run off?"

"Not on Saturdays, no." Naruto quipped and the ninja smiled.

"She must like you for your great sense of humour." Naruto ignored the heavy sarcasm. "She likes you so much she begged me not to kill you."

"She's so kind." Naruto muttered and again the ninja smiled.

"Eh, I just can't stand the paperwork. But she is kind, isn't she? You should tell her that in person." He stepped aside and suddenly there appeared Hinata. He hadn't sensed her there at all!

"Wow! You're like ninja quiet!" He shouted at her and her guardian rolled his eyes, knowing that Naruto was a walking oxymoron to his statement. Oh the irony.

"Hinata-chan, are you sure I shouldn't kill him? I promise I'll make it painless...ish."

Naruto showed the ninja a rather rude gesture causing both Hinata and her guardian to chuckle. Naruto and Hinata stared at each other for a while. She was wearing much more than a slip now. She had on a simple black kimono with a small crest of the okiya embossed on the top left side of the kimono, and a white obi that was made of a thin piece of linen. Her hair was down, but he could clearly see the bandage peeking out from the collar of her kimono. Suddenly Naruto was feeling as if all eyes on him. He looked back but he couldn't see Jiraiya, but he just knew that the man had probably cast his Transparent Escape Technique jutsu to spy on them. Pervert. He stepped outside into the hall and closed the door behind him to hear the disappointed groan of Jiraiya from inside. The Pervert. Naruto looked unsure of what his next step was. He wanted to talk to Hinata, but kept feeling a sharp edge on his back. It could be from the Kumo ninja's stare or it could be from the kunai that the ninja was poking in his back.

"I'm giving you a next chance, kid," The ninja whispered into Naruto's left ear so that Hinata would not hear. "You touch her, I kill you. You breathe too hard on her, I kill you. You speak to her too loudly, I kill you. If I feel like it, I'll kill you, but I don't want to. I kinda like you. You're cool, in a stupid sort of way."

In a puff of misty cloud the ninja was gone, but Naruto knew that he wasn't really gone. He was probably hanging around somewhere, already planning of ways to dispose of Naruto's body; just like how he could sense the presence of the other Kumo ninja that was charged with guarding Hinata. Nonetheless; there was something about him that Naruto liked. Maybe it was the big brother attitude he had towards Hinata.

"There's a garden outback. We could go talk over there." She nodded and for a second he hesitated when Hinata moved to put her hand on his shoulder. Pushing his recent death threats aside, he led the way with Hinata's left hand on his right shoulder.

It took them thirty seconds to get to the garden at the back of the inn, but to Naruto it felt like a lifetime because he could practically feel the awkwardness between him and her. She took a seat on the far side of a park bench and he sat down in the middle. A shuriken suddenly came spinning out of the night's darkness to land between him and Hinata and he took it as his cue that he needed to move further away from her. With a sigh he moved back.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He said to Hinata, careful not to raise his voice.

"It is a bit funny. I also think that you're quite skilled to have created your clones to fool Reizo like that." Hinata said as she and the real Naruto walked down a side street that led to the village's grassy fields.

"Yeah, well I knew he was going to come after to me, so I had two clones on the lookout. When I answered the door, it wasn't me. It was a clone. When you two approached, I just morphed one of my clones to look like you. It's something that the Pervy-sage recently trained me in – making my clones look like other people, that is. I'm just really glad that you didn't scream when I switched the real you with one of my clones."

"I wanted to, but I just froze up." She said in a small voice with slight disappointment. It was something she needed to work on.

They said nothing for a while, only walking silently arm in arm until they reached the fields. It was quiet except for the rustling of the wind on the grass. The moon was high and for a while, they could believe that they were the only people in the world as they stood in the middle of the field with waist high grass.

"You're a Jinchūriki."

"H-how did you know? How did you know that I host the Nine-Tails?"

"I didn't. It was a guess. One of Nayako's biggest clients is the Raikage and his brother. His brother, Killer Bee, is a Jinchūriki. He hosts the Eight Tails. When she has entertained them I've been in their company once. They're really nice people, despite the rapping. He's told us what it's like to transform."

Naruto was amazed. First Gaara, now this Killer Bee person. Naruto wondered what were the odds that she lived in a village with its own Jinchūriki and now she also knew him - another Jinchūriki? She should be wrapped in bubble wrap. He shook his head of the thought. Jiraiya was right; it did sound serial killer-like.

"I just put together what Nayako said about you, coupled with your side remarks and what happened tonight...everything sort of fell into place and started to make a lot more sense about who you really are. It was just a guess, but I guess I guessed correctly. You always reminded me of some sort of animal, but until tonight I didn't know what."

"Wait, Nayako knows about me? How does she know about me?"

Hinata shrugged. "Jiraiya?"

"I doubt." Naruto answered absently. He knew that Jiraiya would not say anything about the Kyuubi just like that. Did Nayako have some sort of connection to Konoha? That was odd. There were people in Konoha who still didn't know about his pet demon, yet Nayako knew...

"I guess that's why she wanted me to stay away from you." Hinata's soft voice brought Naruto back from his musings.

"She's right though." Naruto admitted as he tried his best not to look at the bandage on Hinata's left shoulder.

"She usually is." Hinata agreed and Naruto felt his heart sink. This has got to be the world's shortest relationship, he cynically thought. For a half-hour he was her boyfriend and in the next minute she'd break up with him. "But she's not right this time."

Naruto's head snapped up.

"You are not the Nine Tails. I don't like the Nine Tails." The Kyuubi snorted in derision; Naruto politely ignored him. She was staring at her feet and speaking very softly, so softly that Naruto strained to hear her. She was also doing that strange tapping thing with her fingers. He clasped his hands over hers and she looked up at him.

"Thank you. I mean it, thank you. You're going to be in so much trouble just trying to be with me."

"I have to get some kind of excitement in my life. I'm not a ninja like you. Before you came into my life the most exciting thing that happened was that we got new peach flavoured tea to serve at the Teahouse. It was just non-stop thrills." Naruto snorted out a chuckle and Hinata smiled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run out on you, it's just that I panicked and I thought that I hurt you and –"

"You didn't; well, you did, but it's not that deep. It probably won't scar."

"Well that's go –" Naruto looked off to the side.

"What's the matter?"

"One of my clones just died. We better go. I'll take you back to your room. I doubt you want to see your boyfriend get murdered in front your eyes anyway."

"I think you can take on both of them."

"I know. I just didn't want you to feel bad."

Hinata laughed and shook her head as Naruto scooped her up in his arms and ran off in the direction of the Silver Dollar Inn. He reached the inn in record time and set her down gently in the middle of the room. Because of their previous disastrous interaction in said room, they were a bit awkward when it came to a hug goodbye. He held her a bit stiffly and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek as if he were kissing his aunt or something. Hinata said nothing, reckoning that it would take some time before he completely moved over his fear of hurting her. With a promise of seeing her later in the day, he took off through the window where the moonlight was still illuminating her room in striking shafts of light, simultaneously creating corners of shadows. She turned and lay back on the bed, disbelieving the night that she had when she remembered the crushed flowers. Rather, there were no longer any crushed flowers on her bed where she left them.

"If you're wondering where the flowers are, I'll have you know that I discarded them."

Hinata sat up pin straight. Like a ghost, Nayako emerged from the shadows of the room and paused in front of Hinata. It didn't help matters that she was dressed in an all white kimono with the simple crest of the okiya embossed on the top left side of the garb.

"Did he do that to you?" She pointed at the bandaged part of Hinata's shoulder. Hinata didn't know how to answer. She didn't want to lie, but she definitely couldn't say the truth. How did Nayako know?

"I try so hard to keep you away from danger, but it just seems to follow you. I do care about you, you know."

"I know." Hinata replied in a quiet voice. She kept feeling as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had been found out by Nayako. She was expecting lots of shouting, lots of besmirching of Naruto's name, but she got a Nayako who was frighteningly calm and telling her how much she cared about her.

"I just don't want to lose you."

"Why would you lose me? Nothing's going to happen, Nayako. I'm not going anywhere."

Nayako didn't respond, but simply stretched out her hand for Hinata to take. Hinata took it and was led out of the room and down the stairs, past the lobby and outside where she realized that their kago was there with four hired men waiting to transport them. The hairdresser, the two maids, the kanzashi artisan and the dresser were already seated bunched up in another kago. Reizo and the other ninja were also standing there. Hinata wondered if they knew what was going on all along. Instinctively, Hinata pulled away a bit, but Nayako's grip tightened.

"You won't be seeing Naruto later. We leave for Sand tonight." She led Hinata into the kago and stepped in behind her as the men raised the kago to begin the travels. All the while Nayako muttered that at least in Sand Hinata would be free from threats for a while; there were at least no Jinchūriki there, she hoped.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 October 09**

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She was banned from Kumo? That was it, wondered Hanabi after she emerged from a meeting with the Hokage and her father. Hiashi walked alongside his daughter, both of them not saying a word to each other. Hanabi looked up to see that his face was impassive. She did not honestly know what to expect. The closest that he came to showing overt concern for her was when she was preparing for her mission to Kumo a month ago, but she kept him at arm's length.

_Every failure points out to us the shortcomings or the errors that we make and that we should now choose to carefully avoid._

He had said that to her right before her mission to Kumo and the words came back to her with startling clarity. At the time she thought that that was a personal revelation of his that guided him in his decisions about life. Maybe that was why he was not as open with her as he said he was with Hinata? Maybe that was why he trained Hanabi so hard that she could defend herself no matter the circumstances? Who knew what went on in that head of his… Hanabi certainly didn't know. But she realized that his words were not a personal credo, but rather it was the Hyuuga way. The elders were calling her a failure again. Kumo was a disaster no doubt in their eyes. Hanabi had failed the mission – they were supposed to bring back the thief alive, not dead. And she had killed a Kumo ninja for no apparently good reason other than because she could. And to top it all off she hadn't even finished off the ninja with the Gentle Fist style; she had used a katana. Hanabi had nothing to say to any of those statements. She knew that to all appearances her actions bordered on reckless, if not plainly stupid. But only she knew that her mission was far from a failure. Only she knew that she had found her sister whose life was completely different from the life she was supposed to have lived.

Hanabi of course considered the possibility that she could simply say, "hey, look who I found!" but that would not get her what she wanted. If she brought back Hinata and Sasuke...well, the idea always brought to her a feeling of joy. The elation in her heart did not stem from some unused portion of her heart that stirred up feelings of familial duty. Rather, every time she thought about her return with Hinata and Sasuke she imagined the look on the elders' faces. She could see clearly their slack jaws and eyes bulging in shock that she had single-handedly restored the Hyuuga honour. She imagined the look on Neji's face. Oh the satisfaction that she would feel to see the look of recognition that he was surpassed by a ten year old girl. And of course the village would have to throw her a parade or something equivalent for also single-handedly bringing back Sasuke Uchiha (well, that part wouldn't be all thanks to her, she needed Hinata in her plan) and putting that deserter in jail where he belonged. But most of all she wanted to see the look on her father's face. Would he actually smile again when he saw that his supposedly long dead daughter was found alive and well, by his youngest daughter? Would he actually say, 'well done, Hanabi; now we can be a proper family; let's start over." Hanabi's fantasies usually got a little blurry around there for she could not fathom her father smiling, nor could she envision herself staying up late and sharing her secrets with her sister who would now be her best friend.

But for now, she had to consider a way to break the seal and re-enter Kumo without being killed on the spot. She _had_ to figure out a way. All of her dreams were hinging on this. She could not fail.

Another three weeks passed before Hinata, Nayako and their entourage reached Suna and to be honest, Hinata was not impressed. For the last week or so the landscape gradually changed as they moved from Kusagakure, the Village Hidden in the Grass to Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village, where the topography then changed from a rain-soaked, sky-scrapered city to flat grasslands to broad belts of tropical savannas to prairies that finally gave way to the miles and miles of dry, brown sand that best described Suna. It was a bit near six o'clock as the troupe passed between a gap in the claustrophobia-inducing 600 ft high rock outcropping that served as the village's natural barrier.

As their passports were checked at the entrance to the Village Hinata peeped out from the kago and squinted in the dying day's sun as she looked around at the city. Similar to Kumo, there were lots of people milling about. Surprisingly she noticed that a lot of men wore some sort of covering for their faces. Some could be seen wearing tagelmust – a cloth that served the dual purpose of both a turban and a veil that draped down to loosely cover the neck. Hinata assumed that this was to protect oneself from the harsh winds that were inlaid with sand. A ruthless wind was kicking up and she was glad that she was in the relative safety of the kago. She was already legally blind; she didn't need sand particles being lodged in her nostrils to add to her discomfort. She noticed some women wearing veils, but also a lot of them wore short skirts or tops that had plunging necklines, their legs gleaming in the approaching twilight, their cleavage visibly heaving. Hinata wondered how the people of Suna would view Geisha with their elaborate kimonos that dared to expose only the face, hands and the back of the neck. Everything was so different here! She was accustomed to lush mountains, steep staircases carved through winding hills, rolling clouds of mist and rain. For the life of Hinata she could not figure out Nayako's sudden impulse to come to Suna and she was even more thrown with Nayako's sudden statement:

"The Kazekage's only fifteen! Tsk tsk. Change of strategy needed then."

Just three hours had passed since their arrival and they had already settled into a pre-furnished rented house. This was because Nayako had the foresight to send ahead Reizo and the other ninja, Aoi, to scout for accommodations for the group. Now as they all sat around the dining table in the modest two-storey house, Hinata had to wonder out loud what on earth was Nayako speaking about.

"W-what strategy, Nayako-san? Are you telling me that this wasn't just a random road trip?" _Designed to ruin my love life_, she finished in her mind. Nayako did not initially look up from the newspaper that she was reading, but instead continued on as if she had not heard her maiko ask a question.

"He has two older siblings? So why were _they_ not crowned the Kazekage? How odd. And there's a council of advisors...hmmm..."

Hinata stared at her geisha sister, then back around the table at the hairdresser, the two ninjas, the dresser and the kanzashi artisan to see if anyone noticed that Nayako seemed to be in a different world. As usual, the two maids stood off to the side pretending to be invisible and the rest of them were making small talk quietly among themselves. Hinata was not to be ignored, however. For the last few weeks she held inside her a quiet fury, not just at Nayako, but at the entire group. They all seemed to be under the direct authority of Nayako, which was understandable – she was paying them after all, but it seemed to stretch further than that. Was it that they feared her tiger temper or was it her honeyed words and pretty smiles that had them doing her every bidding? Whichever it was, they all seemed to be following Nayako's belief that Hinata should be kept as far away from Naruto as possible.

Hinata found it so frustrating that she did not get a chance to tell Naruto that she was leaving. Her mind was in turmoil with all the possible thoughts he must be having at her sudden departure. And what upset her the most was that the entire entourage seemed to be part of the plot to leave in the middle of the night. Everyone was all packed and ready to go. She didn't like this. She felt as if there were things being hidden from her. It was bad enough that she could barely see; she didn't want it to become a figurative meaning in her life too.

The situation only served to build up a niggling annoyance in Hinata that was fuelled even further by Nayako's supposed obliviousness to Hinata's feelings. She acted as if she did nothing wrong. She never brought up Naruto and if ever Hinata ever tried to bring him up, the conversation was deftly changed by Nayako and the entire group seemed to be in support of this. She was beginning to suspect that there was more to Nayako's hatred for Naruto.

It wasn't just that Nayako was simply looking out for the best interest of her maiko. Something was strange here and Nayako seemed to be at the centre of it all. Hinata suspected that it had something to do with the incident at the Ichimokari Teahouse a couple of months back. It was odd how just a day after the incident Nayako suddenly says that she wants to go on a road trip with her maiko. There were so many things that didn't add up. Why was Nayako adamant that Sasuke was never at the Teahouse? As far as Hinata knew Sasuke had only told her not to mention his presence, so why was Nayako swearing on her mother's grave that he was never there? Also, she suddenly says that "we're heading on a road trip, but before that I just have to make a quick stop to the Raikage." The Raikage? She also insisted that Hinata not return to the okiya. What was going on? At some point in time Hinata realized that this trip stopped being a cultural edification process and took on more of an I'm-on-the-run-from-the-law vibes.

At first Hinata thought that Nayako was being caring to want to give a change of scenery to Hinata on the heels of the awful incident. But with a statement like 'a change of strategy is needed' coupled with Nayako's almost violent hatred of Naruto . . . well, Hinata couldn't help but think that there was something that was missing.

"What change of strategy is needed?" Hinata again asked, this time with a bit more force in her voice. Nayako looked up from the papers to fix Hinata one of her sweet smiles.

"Well, my dear, I was planning to dance for the Kazekage, but I think that you'd be better suited for that role. Hurry up and eat. I want to start practice as soon as possible." With that she excused herself from the table leaving Hinata to wonder exactly what her geisha sister had in that mind of hers. Reizo quietly leaned over to whisper to Hinata,

"Hinata-chan, you've known Nayako for so many years. When are you going to learn that nothing she does is by random?"

Hinata looked at Reizo who had pulled back and was now in deep conversation with the hairdresser as if he had never said anything. She could only conclude that Nayako had some sort of plot that centred around the Kazekage, but what could it be? And where did Hinata fall into this?

But Hinata did not get time to dwell on that too much for Nayako was now working her to the bone. The enthronement of the Kazekage was one week away and Nayako had Hinata dancing her toes off.

"Why can't you catch those fans on time?!" Nayako screamed at her when once again, the fan slipped through Hinata's hands and fell onto the floor with a resounding 'blap' sound.

"Because I can't see!"

"That is no excuse! Estimate where the fan will fall and catch it! That's all you have to do. I'm not asking you to build a time machine!"

"Why is this so important, Nayako-san? It's just an enthronement and it's not even for _our _Kage." Hinata whined. She was tired and she was sweating. Nayako sighed heavily before she spoke.

"This dance is not just a dance, my dear little maiko. My life depends on this dance and if my life depends on this dance, tell yourself that _your_ life is dependent on this dance also. You need to make an impression. If you don't, we can't return to Kumo. Now quit complaining!"

Our lives depend on my dancing, Hinata wondered. Was her geisha sister being dramatic or did something happen in Kumo that forced them to be here? There was something odd going on. Nayako was not telling her everything and again Hinata suspected that it had something to do with the incident at the Ichimokari Teahouse.

By the time the Kazekage's enthronement came around, Hinata was tired. Besides having to practice dance for eight hours a day, Nayako made sure that Hinata continued to study the shamisen, tea ceremony and she had her also taking current events, history and poetry. When the night finally came fireworks were shot up in the sky from rooftops and people hung bright red and green banners from their doors with the Kazekage's name emblazoned on it. The actual enthronement happened at some time near eight o'clock in the morning, but the festivities continued on late into the night. After his official ceremony the Kazekage had been busy in meetings with the council, but he was scheduled to make an appearance later in the night at the village quadrangle. A huge stage was erected in front of the public library and chairs were set down for the Kazekage, his brother and sister and the Kazekage's main advisor, Baki. It was on this stage that Hinata was going to do her dance, not just for the Kage, but for the entire village as well.

To say she was nervous would have been an understatement. She tried to think of Naruto and his brimming confidence and the way that he jumped head first into all matters thinking later of consequences and of what people thought of him. But her mind kept returning to what Nayako had said – that their lives depended on this dance. No pressure.

The nights in Kumo were considerably colder than during the day when the temperatures could rise to 40oC. At night when it was cold and especially tonight for the Kazekage's enthronement the women wore simple abaya, loose cloaks, in shades of tan and black and light blue. Hinata was glad that tonight she had on a brilliant red elaborate kimono that was made of crisp and smooth silk gazaar that kept her warm with a captivating yellow gold obi of silk brocade. It was April, the time of year when the sakuras bloom, but they were in the middle of the desert and there was not a cherry blossom tree within a hundred miles and if there was it was dead. Thus, the Kanzashi artisan made silk sakura blossoms for Hinata to wear in her hair coupled with silver hair combs in the shapes of butterflies at the ends of two seven-inch long hair pins that stuck out of her hair. It was impossible not to notice her; Nayako made sure of that. Hinata sat in the middle of the stage, her head down and silently prayed that she wouldn't trip over her own kimono as she waited for the Kazekage to join the festivities. Nayako sat a respectful distance of six feet behind her, her fingers already in position on her shamisen, while two musicians were hired to play the drums and a local vocalist to support her. Everyone was whispering excitedly, their eyes hooked on Hinata and Nayako, both of whom were both the picture of subservient feminine indulgence. Suddenly the noise boomed to a roar of the crowd and Hinata, whose head was bent because she was too nervous to look up, assumed that the Kazekage had arrived.

The crowd stilled after a while and Hinata took a deep breath. Nayako started off with a quiet rhythm, an introduction to let Hinata know that she should get ready. Hinata briefly squeezed her eyes shut and whispered Naruto's name before she started. She really missed him and wished that he was there to see her now and cheer her on.

I dream of rain  
I dream of gardens in the desert sand  
I wake in pain  
I dream of love as time runs through my hand

With the start of Nayako's vocals Hinata slowly rose off the ground, but her eyes were still trained on the ground; her face as unreadable as stone.

I dream of fire  
Those dreams are tied to a horse that will never tire  
And in the flames  
Her shadows play in the shape of a man's desire

She made only slow movements, careful to remember Nayako's instructions to let the crowd be slowly teased by her. She only took her cue to move with more confidence when Nayako's vocals and tempo rose.

This desert rose  
Each of her veils, a secret promise  
This desert flower  
No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this

And as she turns  
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams  
This fire burns  
I realize that nothing's as it seem

Hinata had no idea why, but Nayako had instructed her that on that line she was to look directly into the eyes of the Kazekage. She did as was told, holding his gaze in her nearly-blind eyes for a moment before she turned, but as far as she knew he made no recognition.

This was because Hinata was yet to know that Gaara was a man who held his thoughts and emotions close to his heart. But his siblings, Temari and Kankurō, were not as stoic. Temari and Kankurō instantly looked at each other, their eyes opened wide in surprise. There was no mistaking it. Those eyes were Hyuuga eyes!

I dream of rain  
I dream of gardens in the desert sand  
I wake in vain  
I dream of love as time runs through my hand

Hinata sped up her movements. Her long sleeves whipped about her as she discreetly removed two hand fans from them. With spinning movements she threw them in the air and caught them as the crowd cheered and whooped, while she thanked any deity that was willing to listen, her gratitude for making that happen.

Temari and Kankurō were off their seats and were now looking intently at Hinata as they both wondered why on earth would a Hyuuga be here under the pretence of a blind geisha from Kumo. A slight dust storm had risen giving the appearance that Hinata was affecting the swirling sands with her fans, but on second inspection Temari and Kankurō noticed that the sands really _were_ being conducted, though not by Hinata, but by their brother! They turned to look at Gaara, his face was blank as cardboard but subtly, his fingers navigated the sand around Hinata. With shock marring their faces the siblings turned to look at Hinata again, her movements echoing with every step as the Kanzashi in her hair and the ghungroos, small bells attached to her ankles, jingled in the night. The siblings listened to Nayako's words with a lot more intent.

Sweet desert rose  
Each of her veils, a secret promise  
This desert flower  
No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this

Sweet desert rose  
This memory of Eden haunts us all  
This desert flower  
This rare perfume, is the sweet intoxication of the fall

At the end of the dance the crowd shouted for an encore and the Kazekage rose to personally speak with Hinata, but Temari cut in front of him. Luckily for her, Gaara had recently revised his world view where he killed whoever got in his way, and so he calmly sat back down while his older sister spoke to the young maiko.

"That's quite a dance you did there."

"Thank you very much." Hinata bowed and realized that she had no idea how to relate to this young woman since she was so accustomed to entertaining men. She very well couldn't beg the indulgence of a woman!

"I'm Temari, by the way."

"Hello. I'm Hinata of Kumo of the Tsuru Okiya."

"Kumo? Really? So you've never been to Konoha?"

"No. However, I would like to visit there at some point in time."

"I bet you would." A male voice suddenly said from behind her and Hinata turned around to notice a young teenage boy who looked like something out of a drugged up nightmare land. All Hinata wanted to ask him was 'How did you escape? And do the others know?' But instead, she simply politely said,

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sure you would really love to go to Konoha. I heard that there are some people there that you might be able to _relate_ to. Just a thing I heard. Not saying that's why you'd want to go there. Juuust saying."

Hinata looked over to Temari expecting the girl to say something along the lines of please excuse her brother, he's mentally unwell. Instead, she noticed that Temari pinched her brother very hard as she mumbled something that had the words 'kill' and 'shut up' in it. Where the hell was Nayako, Hinata wondered. She casually looked around to see a blurry outline of Nayako talking to a man some distance away.

"Oh don't worry. Your geisha sister is talking to Baki. He's the head advisor to the Kazekage. Anyway, that was quite a performance. You're quite skilled with a fan, kind of like me."

"Oh I've heard of your skill and I am nowhere near worthy of being categorized with you." Hinata blushed as she uncomfortably fingered one of the fans.

"Oh stop being modest!" Kankurō said as he pulled one of the fans from Hinata's hands. She squeaked in surprise. "I saw you twirling these things better than Temari over here."

"Well, her fan is easier to twirl. It isn't five feet tall." Temari muttered.

"I'm legally blind." Hinata said. "I had to practise for hours to get that right."

"You're blind?" Kankurō asked in disbelief and Hinata wondered what was his problem? "No Byakugan?"

"Bless you."

"No, I didn't sneeze. I said, can't you turn on your Byakugan?"

"My what?"

"Your kekkei genkai? Your dōjutsu? It should help you see things like this." He threw the fan in the air so quickly that Hinata barely registered it, so she definitely did not have a chance at catching it though she did look up in time for the fan to crash onto her nose.

"OW!"

"Oh my God! You really can't see? Why didn't turn on your Byakugan!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hinata squealed as she held her nose up to stop the blood flow. The fan had cut her across the bridge of her nose.

"I am so sorry for my brother. He's ten pounds of stupid in a leaking five pound bag."

Finally, _finally_ Nayako came over to rescue her maiko and lead her away from the siblings. Temari turned to her brother.

"You are an idiot!"

"What? I was trying to flush her out. She's obviously some sort of spy from Konoha. They still don't trust us after that incident at the Chuunin exams."

"You think that she's a spy and that's the method you use to flush her out? Hit her over her nose with her own fan? They should strap electrodes to your brain because that was just brilliant!"

"It's better than whatever you were doing! I was being direct. You're getting lazy just like that boy you like, Shikamaru."

"What! How-w-what?" She spluttered. "I was being diplomatic, you _Kant_kurō."

"Stop calling me that! It's rude and disrespectful!"

"That's the point!"

"What are you two fighting about this time?"

Temari and Kankurō jumped at the sudden appearance of Gaara.

"We're not fighting, Gaara." Temari said a lot calmer now. Though she knew her brother was a reformed man, she still had a while to go before she could completely trust him, but she knew she was almost there. "We believe that that maiko may be a spy –"

"From Konoha? I considered the possibility. I intend to send out two scouts to Konoha to infiltrate Konoha to investigate the Hyuugas."

"Oh." Both Temari and Kankurō said. Gaara always was one step ahead of them.

"So what do you think? Do you think that she's playing an act? Do you think that she's a spy?" Kankurō asked.

"I don't know." Gaara answered as he watched Nayako lead away her maiko. Kankurō and Temari exchanged looks. He would never admit it, but they knew that Hinata had somehow affected their brother. They could only hope that the scouts returned from Konoha quickly enough with their information on the Hyuugas so they could find out exactly who was this Hinata of Kumo.

True to their word, Temari and Kankurō made sure they spent every waking minute foiling any attempt on the part of either Gaara or Hinata to speak each other. It wasn't that hard of a job since neither party showed any sort of interest in speaking to each other. More than three months passed and Gaara and Hinata did not even glimpse each other. In the meanwhile, Nayako had set up something of a makeshift Teahouse on the ground level of their house where she and Hinata entertained men, though only the ones that could afford to pay the almost illegally high rates, which eliminated all but high rank Jounin and nobility. Nonetheless, the almost indecently high rates did not deter the demand and Hinata and Nayako became real life Giffen goods in Suna. Nayako was ecstatic. Her pay cheque was fatter than ever before, but she couldn't help but notice that her maiko was still sad.

"What's the matter, Hinata-chan?" She asked after she looked up from her seat at the table in the bedroom as she counted money. Hinata was out on the balcony, staring out at the midnight stars. They had just finished entertaining for the night. Neither of them had even taken off their make-up as yet, much less their kimonos.

"I'm missing Naruto."

Nayako wanted to pound her head on the wall.

"Over three months have passed and you're still on about Naruto. Good Lord, even tattoos eventually fade."

"I could never forget about him."

"Yes, of course, true love, blah blah blah blah. What time is it?" She asked suddenly.

"I don't know. Probably around midnight." Hinata sighed as she remembered that it was around midnight that Naruto last came into her room. She could almost feel the way he had kissed so hard he had taken her breath away. Her body burned to breathe his breath again. She knew that their time in Sand would eventually end (despite her happiness at making money here, Nayako complained bitterly about how much she hated the city of Suna) and in the meanwhile, she had her memories and words of Naruto to keep her going.

"You wouldn't understand, Nayako-san. You've never been in love. You don't know love."

"I've never been in love, true, but I do know what it's like to love someone so much that you'd do anything not to have them taken away from you."

Hinata's brow furrowed and she turned to look at Nayako, who surprisingly was no longer sitting at the table, but was now standing right at the door to the balcony.

"Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you of course."

"Hmm. You have a funny way of showing how much you love me, sister."

"I'm a tough love kind of person. I'm not a squishy, sappy romantic like you." Hinata giggled as Nayako briefly tickled her and turned back to face the city of Suna. "You should forget about Naruto. Sometimes you can just fall into the arms of another man."

Hinata had no time to ask what that meant when she was pushed over the side of the balcony. She barely had time to scream properly before she found herself floating on a bed of sand just inches off the ground. She looked up to see the Kazakage staring down at her.

Hinata looked up at the balcony but Nayako was no longer there. Nothing was ever random, she cynically concluded. The sand righted her up and soon Hinata was standing face to face with Gaara.

"Are you alright? Did you try to jump?"

"N-no! I mean no, I was simply clumsy, Kazekage-sama. I apologize for disrupting your peace, Kazekage-sama." She made a very low bow. Gaara studied her. This was the girl that Temari and Kankurō were so worried was a spy? He could crush her in one blow. And that was just the psychological damage. He knew that from a distance Temari was watching the action unfold.

"What are you doing up so late? Aren't you tired from entertaining all night?"

"I can't sleep."

"I haven't slept since I was a baby."

"Oh my! W-w-why not?"

Gaara did not feel inclined to tell her that he suffered insomnia because he was terrified that the demon inside of him would eat away at his soul. "I like to take walks around the city at night. It helps to ease my mind." He said as he walked ahead of her. He reached six feet ahead of her before he stopped to turn around.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Huh? I mean, Y-y-you want me to come with you? Okay, then." Having fallen from when she was still inside, she had on only her tabi on her feet. The village was quiet and dark, as lights from buildings were turned down low. She made three steps before she tripped, but his chakra-filled sand saved her again. Gaara hesitated for a while before he did what he did next. He had never been this physically close to anyone, but he felt…like he could trust her, that she was just a child like him forced into an impossible role. She seemed to have a good, pure heart. She was the first person since Naruto to evoke such a feeling of trust in him. It took a moment, but he finally offered her his arm.

They walked in silence for a while. Gaara was never one for conversation and Hinata, despite being a Geisha, was honestly all talked out from the night she had earlier. She spent most of the time simply enjoying the heat of the sand pushing up through her tabi and the coldness of the night wind caressing her face. And so, they spent an anti-climactic evening saying absolutely nothing to each other. They walked for an hour before he led her back home. Just as she turned to go inside, he said to her,

"See you tomorrow morning, Hinata-chan."

Hinata bowed faintly and stepped back inside. In that moment she realized that the Kazekage must be a very lonely boy if he desired her company again. Something about him reminded her of Naruto and she swore that she would make an effort to become his friend. She was no longer upset with Nayako for pushing her over the balcony. Well, maybe a little bit upset, but when she got upstairs she noticed that Nayako was not there.

For the next month Hinata spent an hour after midnight walking the streets of Suna with Gaara. She soon started to make conversation with him. At first she was discouraged by his lack of replies or his caveman-like grunt of 'Hn', but gradually he began to speak more. And then one day, he said something to her that completely surprised her.

"I don't just walk at night. I walk during the day too. I walk because I want to get to know my people and I want them to trust me and love me."

"Of course they love you. You're their Kage. They went absolutely nuts for you at your enthronement."

"They were drunk. They fear me because I am a Jinchūriki. They don't love me."

Just like that he threw it out on the table. Naruto was so ashamed to let his secret out and here was Gaara spilling it out in casual conversation. Surprisingly, Hinata giggled and immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Kazekage-sama. Please forgive me."

"Why did you laugh?"

"It's only because my geisha sister wants me to stop talking to someone I know because he's a Jinchūriki and ironically she literally pushed me to talk to you." He didn't say anything and Hinata soon realized that Gaara did not have a sense of humour. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, you really should not worry about that, Kazekage-sama. Everyone at some point in time feel inadequate. But it is doubt that is dreadful. I'm learning from someone that you have to have courage and faith to do the things that needs to be done. Eventually everything will work out. It requires taking a leap of faith, though a soft landing is never guaranteed."

Gaara looked at the girl who was linked in his arm. She was everything that Naruto was not – shy, soft-spoken, inconspicuous – yet, her words were so similar to Gaara's blond idiot friend that he had to look twice at her.

"I too feel inadequate." She continued. "I feel that way all the time. My sight of course makes me feel this way, but more so I feel as if I cannot really be anything great. I feel like I'm just not good enough as a Geisha," _And as a girlfriend to Naruto_, she finished in her mind.

"Hinata, you can be more than a Geisha. As a matter of fact, you'd make an excellent spy."

"Umm...I'm legally blind. I can barely see the lines on my hand. I don't think I'll be spying on anyone any time soon." She replied in a soft voice.

"You give off the impression of complete innocence. You're good-looking enough to have men gravitate towards you. Your stillness of presence makes people want to trust you. You make people comfortable, make them want to tell you things." Her mind instantly ran on Sasuke. "You're a geisha – no one would ever suspect you. You're in a position to become one of the highest ranking Geisha ever by becoming a weapon for your Kage. Think about it."

Hinata was stunned. She didn't know what to say. She never thought of something like that. For the first time since she last saw Naruto did she ever feel a possible link to happiness. She had an opportunity to become something greater for her country. Maybe she could finally be someone worthy enough to walk alongside Naruto. She always felt that because she was not a ninja, she was not good enough for Naruto; that he deserved someone better and more suited to him like his friend, Ms. A. She decided that she would have to talk to Nayako and Naruto about the Kazekage's suggestion.

"So what do you think, Gaara? Is she a spy?" Kankurō asked his brother a week later as the siblings and Baki sat in the Kazekage's office. Gaara stood at the window, while everyone else sat down on the squishy couch.

"I don't think that I'm in the best position to judge."

"What do you mean? Of course you're in the best position to judge. You've been spending almost every night with her."

"I'm biased."

Temari, Kankurō and Baki exchanged looks. What the hell did that mean?

"Well, I don't think that she's a spy." Temari said. "But something isn't right. She looks like a Hyuuga, but what are the possibilities that there's someone from Kumo that has Hyuuga eyes, but no Hyuuga abilities?"

"Red herring: deliberate attempt to divert attention." Gaara suddenly said. "I think that we all focused on Hinata so that Nayako would have free reign to do whatever she wants. _She's_ definitely the spy. Don't you think so, Baki?"

Temari and Kankurō turned to look at Baki whose face coloured. Up until that point he had never considered that his involvement with Nayako could be dangerous. He always considered himself a respectful and intelligent ninja who knew his priorities. Yet, he was completely blindsided by a woman with a stunning face in a pretty kimono who whispered soft nothings into his ear at night. The woman had avoided him for nearly three months, giving them all the impression that she was not a threat. When she finally gave him her utter attention it was really _him_ that was under her control. And it took her about a month – while the Kazekage and his siblings were busy focussing on the maiko. Deception could never have been more beautiful.

"Did she take anything, Baki?" Gaara asked.

"I-I..."

"She probably did, but we might never know what."

"What we do know," Kankurō spoke up in an attempt to save Baki some face, "is that Nayako may be a spy, but the jury is still out on Hinata. Those two scouts you sent out to Konoha turned up dead. We just found the body on the border of Suna." He said as he dropped a file on Gaara's desk that had pictures of one of the scouts with tell tale signs of being in a fight with someone who uses the Gentle Fist – his body had small red polka dot discolouration marks where his tenketsu were blocked and internal injuries lain.

"It seems like the Hyuuga wants us to stay out of their business." Temari said. "Something odd is going on and Hinata is at the centre of it all, whether she knows it or not."

Gaara did not say anything, but like Naruto, he now considered Hinata his friend and he would do anything to protect her.

Nayako's mind was far as her and Hinata's travels reached the edge of the Land of Sound, and was just about to enter the border of the Land of Hot Water. They had been on the road for almost a month, stopping only briefly at inns to rest along the way and was now only about a week or two away from Kumo. All in all they had left Kumo over six months ago and they were now at the end of October on a hot afternoon as they returned. Nayako wondered whether all her efforts would have been worth anything. She remembered the last time she was home in Kumo she had had a conversation with the Raikage.

"_So, let me get this straight. You want me to ban from our village the Hyuuga girl that killed one of our ninja?" _

"_Yes. It would be easier to simply ban rather than risk a retaliation war with Konoha that could span years." _

"_Are you telling me how to do my job?" _

"_I would never dare, Raikage-sama." _

"_Does this have anything to do with that Hyuuga girl you have as your maiko? Yes, I know that you have a Hyuuga. If I ban that little girl, aren't you afraid that she'll simply tell her father about your Hyuuga maiko?" _

"_I don't think so. I don't think that she's looking for a war. She's reckless. I get the impression that she'll try to do things on her own. She'll be back, but this time I'll be ready for her." _

"_Hmm. You're a devious one, Nayako. Too bad your maiko is useless to us with her blind eyes. That's why I haven't said anything to you before. Besides, Hiashi would have your head and I kinda like you, Nayako. You don't give up and you bow down to no one." _

"_Thank you, Raikage-sama. You are too kind." _

"_Oh but you don't get away that easily. I'll ban the young Hyuuga from the village on the condition that you get me something to work with. I know that you're no spy or a ninja, Nayako, but there's nothing that men like more than confessing to pretty, virtuous women like yourself. I heard you're heading to Sand. Get me something worthwhile from Sand or don't bother to come back. Or I will let Hiashi know where his long, lost daughter has been all these years. Oh I'm just messing with ya. I'll kill you and your maiko myself before I let Kumo end up in another war with Konoha."_

Nayako was so lost in her musings that she did not hear what Hinata said and only caught the tail end of the sentence,

"– thinks that I should become a spy."

"What?"

"I said that the Kazekage thinks that I would make a great spy. What do you think?"

"I'm trying to keep you away from danger and you want to be a spy. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? I run all the way to Sand only to have you meet another Jinchūriki that wants to push you head first into the line of danger. Sometimes I think that you just attract danger."

"I don't –" Hinata never got to finish that sentence because suddenly a kunai came flying through the curtained window of their kago.

Their kago lurched to a sudden stop as the hired men that were carrying it screamed and scattered in various directions. They were under attack! Hinata pulled aside the curtain but she could not see who were attacking them; she only saw the foggy image of woods that framed the woods in the dying afternoon sun. The clanging of metal upon metal meant that Reizo and Aoi were engaged in a fight. It sounded to Hinata like it was coming from the right side of the kago. She heard the hairdresser, the dresser and the artisan screaming as they abandoned their own kago. Nayako leaned over and opened the left door.

"Get out child. We'll take shelter in the woods!"

Hinata quickly bundled out. She didn't bother to put on her okobo, but rather ran in her tabi on the hot dirt road. Nayako was right at the side of her pulling her along as one of the maids also made a dash towards the woods. A stray shuriken whizzed past Hinata's ear. Nayako tripped on her long kimono and Hinata stopped to help her up.

"Run child! Run!" Nayako shouted after her as she gathered up her kimono and got up again with the help of Hinata.

Another shuriken flew past them. They were so close to the comforting cover of the woods. They heard a sickening cough of blood and they all looked back just in time to see Aoi collapse, but they still did not see the attacker. With a glint of the afternoon sun Nayako saw the kunai heading straight towards Hinata. The maid was to the side of her. In one movement she held onto the maid's arm and flung her into the path of the kunai. She spun and the kunai caught her straight in her forehead. In that moment Nayako realized what she would have to do.

"Run ahead into the woods, Hinata. I'll try to distract them."

"What? Don't be –"

"Shut up and do as I say!" She screamed as she pushed Hinata forward. Hinata looked back just in time to see her geisha sister pull the kunai out of the dead maid's forehead.

Hinata ran, but she was getting nowhere fast. Her poor eyesight was in league with the woods as both conspired to trip her up every two seconds. The woods were considerably darker as the canopy swallowed up most of the light. She ran until she could no longer hear the commotion. Oh how she wished Naruto was here! She stopped behind a tree. Her breath ragged, her kimono filthy. Scratches adorned her face as fear and worry made her almost delirious. She paused behind a tree in an attempt to catch her breath and also to figure out what was her next step. So she had made it into the woods, now what?

Still breathing hard, she only just realized that she had been hit with a kunai. As her breathing slowed her body only just registered that her right shoulder was in pain. She reached across with her left hand and pulled out the kunai from her back. It hurt like nothing ever.

"I'll take that."

Her eyes dilated in fear and her heart stopped beating. She would know that voice anywhere. She turned to see Sasuke standing at the side of her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach

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It was like being in a dream in the sense that one never knows how one ends up in a dream; the dream is already in full swing by the time one gets there. It was the same for Hinata as she awoke slowly and took in her surroundings. The room was ten by twenty feet and it was dark; only lit by a measly forty watt bulb from the ceiling. There were no windows, so she had a hard time discerning the time. It was cool though, but she could not figure out from where the ventilation was coming. Through her pathetic sight she could just barely make out a table with a few blurry items on it, a wardrobe of some sort, a chair and a bookcase with no books all pushed up against the right side of the wall. There seemed to be a few steps leading to somewhere around a corner, but she could not guess where; only knowing that no light came around the corner. There was a doorway to the left side that had a harsh white light streaming from it and Hinata assumed it was a bathroom as she associated that sort of stark lighting with toilets. The ground felt like hard, packed earth; maybe even dense clay. Was she underground? Despite the intake of all those details, Hinata had no idea as to where she was.

She tried her best to remember how she got there by reviewing her last coherent memory. Talking to Nayako – being attacked – running to the woods – Nayako sacrificing the maid – Nayako telling her to run – running through the woods – kunai in her back – Sasuke-san. After that she remembered nothing. It was Sasuke-san, gap, then here. Her neck was hurting her and for a second she wondered whether Sasuke had done something to her neck, but she reasoned the pain in her neck had more to do with the fact that she had awoken from sleeping in a sitting position. It was then she realized that she was bound to a straight back chair. Each ankle was tied to a leg of the chair and her arms were tied behind her. It took a couple of seconds for her to understand the situation she was in, but once she did panic. She began to struggle.

"You shouldn't struggle." Someone said from behind her, but Hinata instantly recognized Sasuke's voice.

"Sasuke-san! Sasuke-san please –"

He walked past her and took a seat on the chair next to the table. Something jingled on his person and when Hinata squinted a bit she realized that it was a set of keys that was hanging from a cloth around the purple belt around his waist. He was just four feet in front of her, but he acted as if he had not heard her call his name.

"Sasuke-san! Sasuke-san please, I b-b-beg of you, please let me go. I promise, I promise that I won't tell anyone you took me. Please Sasuke-san. Sasuke-san!" She whined as she wriggled to try to loosen the ropes.

"I told you not to struggle. I bandaged the wound on your shoulder. It might re-open."

Hinata stopped mid-wriggle to look at him. Was he serious? She only just realized that her kimono and underrobe were slipping a bit on her right shoulder, exposing her skin to him and in danger of exposing much more if the cloth slipped down further. Panic was replaced by an intense anger she had no idea she was capable of, fuelled by her embarrassment in front of him.

"How dare you! How dare you Sasuke-san! How dare you!" She refused to think about how much of her he had seen while she was out. She refused to think about all the inappropriate things he probably did to her, but it was all she could think about. Tears streamed down her face. "How dare you Sasuke-san," she whispered when the rage in her suddenly subsided and she was left with an acute sense of being used and feeling helpless. He said nothing; her soft sobs echoing in the room. After a while he said,

"Are you done crying?"

Her head snapped up to look at him, her lips still quivering. Her expression was one of pure distaste. He was not Naruto, Sasuke was not used to withering looks and he had to admit that Hinata looking at him with such hatred was disconcerting somehow. He supposed it was because he thought her too innocent to be capable of such unwavering disgust for anyone. It was the first time that her eyes looked like that. She could give him a run for his money with a stare like that. Her eyes looked like ice water. He turned his head from her and busied himself by pouring some water from a plastic bottle into a plastic cup.

"I didn't touch you indecently. I only pulled down your kimono a bit at the back to dress your wound. I did not touch you indecently," He repeated.

She looked at him, but he was now drinking his water and keeping his gaze at the wall. What reason did she have to believe him? He kidnapped her. He lost all moral credibility by kidnapping her. She remembered however, what he had said to her would-be rapist. _Rapists are worse than the worms that breed in latrines_. She remembered that. He didn't seem like someone that would disrespect a woman like that, yet clearly, as the situation so obviously indicated, she did not know him like she thought. She looked at him, her eyes narrowed to slits of disgust.

"I suppose the only man who's supposed to have access to your body is Naruto?" He calmly said as he took another sip of his water.

Hinata's eyebrows crumpled in confusion; her rage forgotten.

"How do you –"

Suddenly everything fell into place and Hinata felt stupid for not having realized it before. Attractive and angsty rogue ninja with an almost debilitating hatred for his brother? Mr. B was Sasuke-san! Sasuke-san was Mr. B!

"You – you y-y-y-you you went to live with a paedophile!" She blurted out stupidly, her eyes wide with recognition.

Sasuke choked on his water. He came up sopping wet and with the most emotion on his face that Hinata had ever seen.

"WHAT! No!"

"But Naruto said –"

"Shut up! I did not go to live with a paedophile! Naruto's a first class idiot. I don't know how that brat manages to find his way out of bed every morning." His expression was now back to its stony features and Hinata worriedly wondered what would happen to her now that she had angered him.

"I'm sorry." She said meekly. He said nothing. He didn't even look at her; only continued to stare at the wall.

"What did Naruto tell you about me?" He asked after a while.

"He, he said that you're like a brother to him, but you're misguided by your hatred for your real brother. . . He really cares about you and is very worried about you. He'd do anything for you. He said that the two of you were always in competition –"

"He was never competition for me."

She wanted to slap him then. She briefly saw herself striking him against the face at that precise moment. It was such a strange reaction! She only knew that she couldn't stand Sasuke treating Naruto as if he was nothing. She calmed herself by taking a deep breath and murmured,

"He's greater than you think. Don't underestimate him. He's like you, Sasuke-san – he will stop at nothing."

"And what about you? Should I underestimate you? Will you stop at nothing?"

She looked at him in confusion? What did he mean by that? Clearly she was not a threat to him. Did he mean that he _wanted_ her to get out of this situation? Was this a test? What was he talking about? She was simply a kidnapped geisha. At the moment, he held all the power. All that she could hope for was that his conscience and mercy would activate some rusty machinery in his head and heart and he would let her go unharmed.

"I – I don't understand..."

He stared at her for a while until she felt uncomfortable under his gaze and averted her eyes. The last time he saw her, a ninja nearly had his way with her. Sasuke had gone over that night a million times in his head. At first he hadn't noticed it, but when he replayed the events in his head he remembered clearly that the ninja was struggling long before he had stuck a sword in the man's throat. And then there was the appearance of Hanabi. Did Hinata know who she was and was she only playing at not knowing her abilities? But why would she do that? No, he reasoned that she did not know she was a Hyuuga heir. He looked at the girl sitting before him in a kimono with colours of orange fading into pink to match the autumn hues. She looked absolutely pathetic. She constantly squinted because she could barely see the back of her own hand, let alone the bones and chakra network in said hand. Yet, this girl. . . He subtly shook his head as if his actions would send flying all the thoughts that had no business in his brain. He tried his best to refocus.

"I'm going to untie you. Do not try to struggle; you may re-open your wound and also, I don't want to have to hurt you."

She said nothing, only nodded a bit while never keeping her eyes off of his blurry outline; the golden kanzashi in her hair jingling and bouncing light off the walls as she nodded. She wished she was a ninja right at this moment. This would have been a perfect opportunity for a capable ninja to take advantage of a potential escape route. But as it was, she was a geisha whose best skill was that she could pour tea really well. Oh if she had a teapot now...

He came closer to her and drew his katana. He moved too quickly for her to notice when he cut the ropes that were binding her; only feeling the release of pressure on her ankles and wrists. Instantly she brought her legs together and pulled up her robes, feeling exposed in front of him like that, though she had no reason to since her kimono effectively blocked any opportunity for indecent exposure. Still, she felt really vulnerable in front of him. Maybe it was because of her near-rape? Maybe it was because of how he stared? It was not lecherous or curious; rather it was filled with nothing. His eyes held a deep, penetrating nothingness to it.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked as soon as he re-sheathed his sword and took his seat. "Is it that you just want to hurt Naruto? Don't you care about him? Why would you try to hurt him so?"

"This isn't about Naruto." He replied in a deeply frustrated tone and Hinata was surprised to see him show so much emotion. Naruto had told her that he had a way of getting under his best friend's skin. Sasuke continued,

"You and he belong together. He _claims_ to be my best friend, yet he can't understand that this has nothing to do with him. People say that I'm heartless, well he's brainless. They say that I have a one track mind; that I can think of no one else but myself and Itachi. Yet, Naruto is the one that can't seem to get in through his thick head that this is not about him! This is between me and Itachi. He thinks it's his personal mission in life to save me from the depths of my destruction. But I think that a true friend would recognize that the world does not revolve around him, that sometimes there are paths that both of us are not meant to walk on. He is so self-absorbed."

"How can you say that? Everything that he does is for you. He's not self-absorbed at all. He cares for you like a brother –"

"Naruto doesn't know about having a brother and he shouldn't make such comparisons. I know what it's like to have a brother. I know what it's like to lose everything. Naruto never had that to begin with."

"No, but he had nothing, but then he gained everything with you and Ms. A and –"

"Who?"

"Uh, I...don't know her real name...we try to keep certain aspects of our lives confidential..."

He scoffed. "There's irony in there, you just don't know it yet."

Hinata was confused, a state that she was soon getting used to and so, dismissed his statement and carried onwards with what she was going to say.

"Naruto had a family with you and his teammates, but you...you broke that up. How do you think that makes him feel?"

"Again, how does _he_ feel? Why don't you consider how _I_ should feel to have my clan massacred by my brother? How should I feel to come home and see my brother standing over my parent's dead bodies? How should I feel that he forced me relive their murders for what felt like a millennia? How should I feel that he constantly consumes my mind, telling me that I am weak, that I am nothing! How should I feel! Tell me that!

"Is Naruto even considering how _I_ feel? Do my feelings have no justification? He has taken all of my hurt and anger and vengeance and turned it into _his _personal life mission, but he misses the point completely. He's not helping me. He could never be doing this for me."

"You think that he's twisting and using your feelings until he's ignoring what you stand for and somehow made this all about him?"

"If he was a true friend he'd let me go."

"A true friend wouldn't. How can you not see how much he cares? How can you not care about him and all that he's doing for you?"

"Again, you're missing the point, Hinata. Just because someone says that they're doing something for you, doesn't mean they actually are. People say that they love you, that they'd die for you, but when you look closer at their actions and listen more attentively to their words...it's just narcissism in a more subtle and twisted form. It's a hero complex and Naruto has it bad. He wants to be the hero and everyone has painted me as the villain. My brother murdered my entire family. All I want is revenge for that. How is it that I am the villain?"

Hinata said nothing, only lowering her eyes to the floor. She felt a bit uneasy. One half of her brain was telling her that clearly Sasuke was insane. He was an intensely focused psychopath. Yet, he didn't sound that crazy. If she really thought about it, Naruto did have a hero complex. She remembered some of her conversations with him about Zabuza, about Haku, about Tsunade, about Sasuke, about how much he gave his all to protect them. She knew that no one should ever make the mistake of crying in front of Naruto; there was no way that he'd let you cry in peace. He _will_ make you happy again by whatever means necessary and that was that. She always assumed that that was a good trait to have. It meant that Naruto was unselfish and benevolent. But Sasuke was looking at it from another point of view. Was he looking at it from the twisted and psychotic whackjob eyes of a madman? Or was he painting a simple and logical explanation for Naruto's almost indecent quest to save people?

"You think that you know me, but you don't."

"I never presumed to know you, Sasuke-san. It's like you said, you don't give away enough of yourself."

Yet he had given away a lot just now. They said nothing for a while, both lost in their own musings. He had no idea why he always said so much in front of her. Every time that he was in her company he kept slipping up.

In the beginning he had cared so much, he loved too much, but then Itachi...He vowed not to let that happen again, not to care about such distractions like friendship and love. Those things only served to distract from his goal. But Team Seven...He never saw that one coming. The experiences, the camaraderie, the bickering, the friendship, the family atmosphere; it distracted him so. Team Seven had no idea how close they came to winning him over, but they didn't. In the end they lost him.

Constantly Orochimaru questioned his resolve, but Orochimaru did not know the extent of the hatred that lay in his heart. He had no idea of exactly how much of his brain thought about avenging his family. Sasuke had no time for distractions like friendship. But maybe Orochimaru did know. He gave Sasuke all the leeway he could ever want, making him believe that he was in control. Sasuke had the freedom to say whatever he wanted, go wherever he wanted because despite all the questions and comments of doubt, maybe Orochimaru truly knew what was in Sasuke's heart, that he wanted nothing else to come between him and his goal of killing Itachi. But then he came upon Hinata.

Sasuke didn't know what to make of her. She was naïve and weak. At this moment she was an embarrassment to the Hyuuga name. But Sasuke saw that she offered so much potential. He would not lie. There were times when he questioned whether what he was doing was the right thing. Was training under Orochimaru really the right way to go about this? That was in the beginning. They were only brief and intermittent moments of weakness. But then he had stumbled upon Hinata. That little half-blind geisha who could barely mutter his name without stuttering had given had renewed his hope. He had a plan and when he noticed that her entourage was being attacked by a band of rogue ninja right in his backyard, well...he could hardly resist the opportunity. He had a plan to assemble a team comprising Suigetsu Hōzuki, Karin and Jugo; a team that could be made even stronger by Hyuuga eyes. He couldn't possibly hope to train her in the Gentle Fist style, though he supposed that by working with her, she could become great. He just had to break that seal...He thought about maybe using Hanabi, but there was no way that she would give him access to her eyes willingly; she would rather claw them out herself. But Hinata held so much more potential. She was so innocent and naïve, so malleable...

But he was not expecting the effect she would have on him. Most unexpectedly and he assumed unconsciously he was attracted to her. He could only possibly blame that on the fact that he was a teenager with puberty planning a coup d'état on his body and mind because honestly, there was no way that he could fall for someone so utterly lame and naïve as Hinata. She was too shy, and too weak, and too nice. She was someone that worried if she was the reason that a person coughed was because of her. After his second meeting with her, he was supposed to meet her after a month's time. But he couldn't face her after he woke up one night sweating, the sheets soaking wet and with his pants sticky. He wasn't planning on such a distraction. Blasted puberty! Where did that come from! He trained, he meditated, he thought about Itachi and constantly reminded himself of his purpose and of her potential purpose. Then the incident at the Ichimokari teahouse happened. Again, he gave away a bit of himself to her. He told himself that this was to be expected. He was a teenager, but he would not be ruled by the hormones of his body. As a ninja, you are trained to ignore such things, trained to minimize the distractions of the mind and body. His attraction to her was simply another aspect of life that was to be ignored.

Now as he sat in front of her, he believed that he had succeeded in suppressing his attraction to her. He did not find her attractive. He did not. He had dressed her wound and felt nothing when his fingertips touched her skin. Nothing. This was good because he could not afford to have his plans come undone because of an unpardonable attraction.

"What happened to my sister?" She asked, disturbing him from his thoughts.

"Which one?"

Hinata paused, her head tilted a bit to the side in puzzlement to the obvious answer to that question.

"Um...my geisha sister, Nayako."

"I asked because you have another sister. She's quite skilled, but she's too arrogant. You have a cousin. He also is very skilled. I wish that I had the opportunity to fight him. I hope that I get to one day. Your family on the whole is a force to be reckoned with."

Hinata stared at Sasuke. She had made up her mind. Sasuke was bugshit insane. What the hell was he talking about! Upon realizing that she was dealing with a madman, Hinata decided that her first priority would be to get out of there and one of her strategies would be to play nice.

"Oh _that_ other sister. Yes, of course I forgot all about her." She smiled and tapped her head in a silly-me fashion; anything to appease the psychopath in front of her.

"You think I'm lying?"

"No." _I think you're insane, _she finished in her mind_._ He scoffed gently.

"The two most powerful clans in Konoha are the Hyuugas and the Uchihas. Well, it was the Uchiha. I hardly qualify as a clan. The Uchihas had the Sharingan and the Hyuugas have the Byakugan. Some say that the Sharingan is derived from the Byakugan. I don't know about that, but I do know that the Byakugan is quite an enviable dojutsu."

Byakugan? Byakugan? The word sounded familiar to Hinata, but she couldn't place where she heard it last.

"Imagine that it allows nearly 360o vision. The more you train, the greater the distance you can see. I last heard that your cousin could see up to 800 metres. Those eyes have the ability to see chakra, chakra flow as well as the chakra circulation system. How is that possible? The Byakugan can see through objects. It can see the organs in the body, the muscles, the veins, the nervous system, the chakra system, everything."

Hinata's heartbeat was speeding at an almost terrifying rate, her eyes wide in shocked understanding.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

The teahouse. The man that tried to rape her. Her strange sight! Those shades of blue and grey!

"Do you know who you are?" He stood up and Hinata got up and backed away, the chair falling noisily behind her. She tripped and fell to the ground.

"Get away from me!"

"Do you know who you are?" He came closer to her. She backed up away from him. He looked terrifying, his figure menacing as he loomed above her. She backed up and unexpectedly hit something. It was a small cot that was jammed up against the wall; unnoticed before now since it was behind her. Hinata was positively trembling with fear. He stooped in front of her and was now close enough that she could see his eyes. They looked like the eyes of a madman – darkness filled with mania.

"You are Hinata Hyuuga, heir to the Hyuuga clan!"

"T-t-t-th-that's not true!" She fiercely whispered, her eyes trained on his body; he was too close to her. "I was born in Kumogakure hospital –"

"Lies! Your geisha sister has been lying to you."

"You're lying to me, Sasuke-san. Why? Why would you do that?"

"You think that I'm lying? Something happened at the teahouse that night with you and that ninja that tried to have his way with you. He was in a bad shape before I arrived. What happened? Tell me what happened! What happened, Hinata! Did you awaken your Byakugan? Did you break your seal? Do you know who you are?" He shouted at her.

"I don't know! I don't know what happened! I don't know!"She cried and in hysterics slapped him away from her. It surprised the both of them and the two of them stood silently staring at each other. Something resembling a smirk tugged at the corner of Sasuke's lips.

"If your chakra was not blocked in your eyes you could have blocked the tenketsu in my brain and paralyzed me."

Hinata looked up at him, squinting to see his expression. Was he joking?

"How do you see me?" He asked unexpectedly.

"Blurry."

"I want to fix that. I haven't figured it out completely, but I'm close to figuring out how to break the seal on your eyes. When I do that I want you to help me. I want you to help me hunt down my brother, Hinata. Your eyes would be invaluable."

"I am not a ninja, Sasuke-san. You...your hopes are too high for me. I'm not –"

"I'll train you."

"What if I don't accept?"

"You don't have a choice."

His unspoken words were clear to her. It was obvious that he would kill her. Tears sprung to her eyes again as the reality of the situation sunk in. She looked around the room and realized that it was not decked out for a temporary stay, but rather...There was no way that she was going to leave here unless Sasuke said so. Her mind reverted to the last time that she had seen Naruto, months ago in a village near the Hidden Grass Village. She had told him that she wanted to be strong like him, to be braver and stronger and do great things. She was disappointed, she had told him, that when the time came she usually failed and fell to the moment. She remembered that Naruto said that being successful meant being resourceful. Here with Sasuke, she had the opportunity to be all of those things. She fixed him a stare. Her mind ran on Nayako.

"_You and Baki, huh Nayako-san?" Hinata had asked one night in Sand when she realized that Nayako was in a good mood. _

"_Why do you sound so surprised, my dear little maiko?" _

"_No reason, Nayako. It's just that in Sand out of all the men that I would not expect to fall for a geisha it would be Baki, right after the Kazekage of course. The Kazekage is just like the hard rock that encircles this village – unbreakable."_

_Nayako laughed. "All men are breakable, Hinata. Men like Baki and the Kazekage are men that like to believe that they are always in control. Sometimes you have to _accidentally _slip up, let them catch you, make them feel that they know all of your moves. But really that's just the distraction. Do you understand what I'm saying?" _

"_I think so. It's like a magic trick, when the magician focuses your attention elsewhere, sometimes on the most obvious, so that they could pull off the trick." _

"_Exactly. You're not so hopeless afterall. I can't say the same for some men, however." _

"Sasuke-san, I could never assume that I know the pain that you are going through, but I know that your heart must be in so much pain. I know that your heart is getting colder and blacker and heavier with grief with every day that passes where you do not have the death of your brother behind you. I want to help you, I do, but I fear that I would disappoint you, that I would not be good enough for your plans."

"I told you that I would train you. My Sharingan and your Byakugan...Hinata, with you I could finally achieve my goal."

"I'm. . .I'm scared..."

"Of what?"

"Not what, but who."

He looked at her surprised to see that she was looking at him in his eyes. She leaned forward to him.

"Should I be scared of you, Sasuke-san?"

Her voice was soft, so soft that he could just barely hear her. When she kissed him he pushed her away violently. Something in his brain sparked that this was Naruto's girl, though nothing was really standing between them here and now. Her eyes opened wide with fear that he was going to hit her. He gripped her face in his left hand and pulled her closer to him. He wanted to slap her across her face for daring to do something so disrespectful, so bold, so boldly stupid. But he couldn't deny that his heart was beating faster than it had in a while. It was not the sort of heavy beating that he was accustomed to from training. It was different and more dangerous. He angled her face towards him, her neck exposed. The neckline of her kimono slipped a bit and from the angle that he held he could see where the makeup ended on her neck and met her pale skin. He shook his head and frowned. He scoffed. _Nice try. _He let her go. He had lied. He was still attracted to her. Dressing her wound earlier was torture. Her lips shook him. Her eyes blinded him. And this time when she kissed him again he did not push her away.

He gripped her, pulling her more towards him so that she was kneeling up to kiss him. He should stop knowing that obviously this was some ploy to distract him, but he couldn't. She thought that she was in control, but he knew what she was up to. He was onto her every play, but he just wanted her. How silly of her to think that she could distract him with her body. Something stirred near his groin as her tongue brushed past his lips and entered his mouth. Her hands moved down his neck and onto his chest, then wrapped around his body then snaked their way up his spine. She arched her back into him and exposed her neck where he trailed his mouth past her chin and onto her throat. She pushed her weight against him as if she could possibly overpower him. She moaned against him and he briefly closed his eyes. He was enraptured.

He never saw it coming.

The pain hit him instantly and he coughed blood into her face when she pulled away from him. He had lost control. Aggressively he pulled away from her clutching the ten inch long kanzashi hairpin that was now stuck in his neck. He lost his balance and stumbled back, his right hand darting out to the side to prevent him from falling over. The situation momentarily stunned him and it was all that Hinata needed for she stabbed his right hand with her other pin, a bit resistant but she heard it crack a bone. She was breathing hard, her eyes nearly touching her hairline in fright. He could not make any hand seals. She ripped the keys from his rope belt and made to bolt when he gripped her left hand, pulling her back. But the blood on his hands slipped down the silk material and she slid past him.

Unfamiliar with the place she fumbled in the dim light of the room, tripping on the fallen chair. She heard him grunting, struggling to breathe and to get up. He was coming after her. She raced up the few steps and turned the corner. There! A door. There was no light on these steps. She heard him behind her. She heard a clatter of noise and assumed that the items from the table fell as he struggled to breathe and walk at the same time.

She tried a key. It was the wrong one. She heard him stumble up the first step. She tried another key. It was so dark. She could hear him wheezing. Which key! Hurry up, she silently screamed to her trembling hands. She pushed a key through the keyhole. He coughed and she spun around to see him at the landing. The light from the room side lit him and he looked ghastly. Blood stained his clothes and his right hand hung limp at an odd angle. From that distance she couldn't tell, but she knew that he most likely had activated his Sharingan; his eyes bulging from the pain and betrayal. He took another step forward and fear threatened to overcome her. It was like being chased by a ghost. He was not going to make it, was he? She heard the click and pushed open the door to be flooded with light. In the background she dimly heard him cough up blood again. She was out. She was free. She ran as fast as she could, hiking up her kimono; tears streaming down her face as she whispered to the wind,

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

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**A/N**: Review please!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited – 2012 December 16**

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Hinata ran through the woods with a distinct taste of guilt in her mouth. Her brain kept alternating between what she had just done and what she was going to do. Terrified and blinded by the lack of light the woods afforded her, she tripped constantly on roots. It was not a wise or well-thought out plan, but she had to keep going, if only to get away from Sasuke, never looking back as if terrified she'd turn into a pillar of salt. The image of him crawling up the steps with her kanzashi sticking out of his throat like he was a pin cushion was burned onto her memories. With every twig that she herself broke she kept imagining that it was him that was one step behind her. He had done it before, he could do it again – track her that is. The only thing that kept her somewhat doubting him is the fact that it would be definitely more difficult to track her since she left him unable to breathe properly.

She had no idea where she was going to go. She had opened the door of her short stay in his prison onto a small clearing in the woods and ran as fast as she could to the thick cover of the woods just fifty yards ahead of her. But now as she stood here next to the tree, in front of the tree and behind another tree, she was beginning to question the logic of her 'plan'. The sun was quickly setting. Every hoot or hiss she heard made her pause. Her heart rate was going at a speed that no doctor would have considered healthy, her eyes wide with fright. She had ran for what seemed like hours, but she knew somewhere in the back of her foggy brain that it could not have been for long. She could not move that quickly what with her cumbersome kimono, poor sight and the fact that she had no idea where she was or was heading to. All she had been concerned about for a while was putting distance between herself and Sasuke. But now as she paused to take a breath, she wanted to scream. How the hell was she going to survive in the woods? So many unknown sounds...so many creatures that could be stalking her right now...She was so wound up that when a westward wind passed she screamed as the cold hit her neck. She wanted to cry, but no tears came to her eyes.

This was all Sasuke's fault. The day would forever be full of hope that he would get struck by lightning, she thought as she rested her hand against a tree and instantly pulled back in pain as its bark was riddled with sharp and tiny thorns; a few that were now embedded in her right hand. She had to stop and think. What would Naruto do? He would probably head back and kick Sasuke's butt, she concluded.

Naruto. She had done what she did for him, she thought as she tried to remove the thorns from her hand. It was painful business as she could not see and had to feel for the thorns, pressing them into her skin even more. She had no feelings for Sasuke other than a queer mixture of pity and unabashed, burning hatred that she had no idea that she was capable of. She supposed that right now the hatred stemmed from the thorns that were embedded in her hands, but then the anger turned to guilt as she remembered she had done a despicable act. She had used her looks and innocence to trap him. Her heart was in a knot of retribution as her mind kept bringing up epithets such as slut, floozy, bitch and whore. She had sullied her reputation, though only she knew it. She had sullied her geisha reputation. What would Naruto think of her? How on earth was she going to tell him that she made out with his best friend, then stabbed him and left him for dead? She tried to reason that she did it because she had to get out of that situation. He was going to kill her if she did not 'lend' him her eyes, which by way led her to the other emotion she had for Sasuke – pity, pity because it was clear that Sasuke had fallen gleefully into despicability and insanity. Yet...he didn't sound insane. It was true that Naruto had a hero complex, now that she thought about it, but that was not a bad thing like the way Sasuke made it sound. And how did he know about her strange vision? There were so many things that did not add up.

It was with those thought that Hinata took a deep breath and with it a new resolve. She had to get out of these woods and back to civilization. She owed it to Naruto. She owed him an explanation for her actions. She owed him an apology, even if he would never forgive her and she would lose him forever. And she had to find Nayako and find out what on earth was going on.

She trudged back to her question of what would Naruto do? Heading back and kicking Sasuke's butt was out of the question for her. Despite her 'lucky' break of stabbing him in his neck, Hinata knew that she was no butt-kicking ninja, no matter that Sasuke said differently (he was insane, remember, his opinions were to be taken with a teaspoon of salt.) It was obvious that no hero was going to come flying out of the clump of trees and save her. Hinata would have to do her heroic action herself. She had escaped her kidnapper. She would escape this situation. She was smart-ish. She could do this.

Her first thought was to figure out where she was. It had been nearly three years since she had stopped her ordinary schooling at twelve years old and now she racked her brain to remember geography. The sun was setting over there in front of her. The sun always sets in the west, she remembered so, that meant behind her was east. When they were attacked they had just crossed the border on the Land of Hot Water which was to the south of Kumo. She was getting a headache. This was not hard work, but her brain seemed fuzzier and thinking was that much more difficult. She had no idea how long she was out for before she woke up in that underground room, but she willed herself to believe that it was not that long or else hope would be lost. If that was the case she could not be that far from civilization and from Kumo. She was either in the Land of Sound or the Land of Hot Water. Either way, she had to head north, which was to her right. But right now that would have to wait because there was no way she was moving in the dark, in the woods

Hinata looked around to see where she was. Nothing but trees, shrubbery, grass, more trees. She considered climbing a tree in the hopes that a passing ninja might accidentally step on her and thus, save her. But the chances of successfully climbing a tree in the failing light while decked out in full geisha garb were really slim. . She took a couple steps to get away from the thorny tree, slipped in some mud and hit her forehead hard on the bough of a fallen tree. Groggily and angrily, she clambered up. Clearly, she was not going anywhere tonight. She tentatively touched the tree directly behind her for thorns and sat at the base. Things did not look good for her. She was cold, thirsty and hungry. Her feet hurt from the number of times she stepped on sharp stones as she wore only her tabi that was now covered with mud. Her ankles hurt from the number of times they got twisted in wait-a-minute vines. And she was almost positive that her wound had reopened as there was a dull throbbing in her shoulder. Plus, she now had a small bump on her head and a splitting headache. She knew that there was a high chance that during the night she would either freeze to death, go delirious from hunger and accidentally throw herself off a precipice in her delirium or worst of all – be approached by a wild animal or worse than that – a snake.

How did she end up in such a situation? She was a normal girl. She was ordinary and dull to the point where the Raikage could charge her for being a waste of space. But right now she was in an extraordinary circumstance. Ordinary girl or not, she had to get back to Naruto. She had to. Failure was not an option. She removed the last seven-inch long kanzashi pin from her hair and clutched it in her trembling left hand (her right hand ached from the thorns that she was sure still had lurking thorns in it). An animal better had not make the mistake of trying to attack her tonight because she was getting out of there. She had to. She had to see Naruto again.

* * *

When Nayako woke it took her a moment to realize that she was in a hospital, but the faint scent of disinfectant, the standard issue smooth-like-paper sheets and the faint beeping of some sort of monitoring device soon gave it away. She looked to her left and saw a window. It was night time and she was the only occupant in the room as far as she knew. Her entire body ached. She tried to sit up only to realize that her wrists were bound. It was then that she heard a voice that she did not expect to hear.

"You've been delirious for the last few hours." said Naruto.

Nayako blinked a couple of times. Why was that demon brat standing over her bed? She didn't have to ask the question out loud, her eyes said it all, which was good since she did not trust herself to ask the question obscenity free. Naruto always brought out the worst in her.

"You're in a hospital in the Land of Hot Water. Pervy Sage found you. Where's Hinata?"

Hinata! With a sudden surge of energy Nayako tried to rise off the bed ignoring the pain that enveloped her entire body.

"I have to get to her. Cut me loose. Cut me loose!"

Naruto was shocked by her sudden anxiety. He pulled out his kunai instantly, but held it up just inches from the rope.

"Lady, tell me where is Hinata!"

"Are you threatening me?" She stopped mid-thrashing.

"Not yet. Now tell me what happened to Hinata!"

"We got attacked by rogue bandits just as we crossed the border of the Land of Hot Water. I took off with Hinata to hide into the woods, but I realized that we would be overpowered. There were too many ninjas and Aoi and Reizo were slowly being overcome. I had no choice. I told Hinata to run into the woods and that I would try to distract them."

"You let her go off into the woods alone! Are you insane?!"

"What did you want me to do? Who knows what those men would have done to her. I had to get her out of there."

"What did you think _you_ could have done?" Naruto asked in exasperation as he imagined a host of horrible things happening to Hinata deep in the woods.

"There's no need for you to worry about me." She hissed at him.

"I wasn't." Naruto corrected her and she glared at him, which he returned. "It's been two days that she's been lost in the woods. When Pervy Sage came upon you he brought you straight to the hospital. I was already training in the main part of town. If only I had been there..." He trailed off. What decision would he have made? When the Pervy Sage had found Nayako she was in a bad shape, though she had put up a brave fight and had even managed to seriously injure one of the five men. Only she and that lanky ninja, Reizo, survived. Naruto looked at the geisha in front of him. Her face was pretty as ever despite the heavy bruising to the rest of her body. She could have run and left but she stayed behind and told Hinata to run knowing full well that she could never take on a gang of rogue ninjas. She had been beaten pretty badly, though all he saw now were bandages that poked out here and there from the simple white, cotton kimono she wore. He wanted to be angry at her, but he couldn't. He knew sacrifice when he saw it.

"Nayako-san," He started off, washing down all of his pride with the seven seas, "thank you for trying."

Nayako was flabbergasted. Her mouth opened and closed with a variety of sarcastic retorts, but instead she settled on saying nothing, choosing a neutral and blank expression.

"I think I'll start at the edge of Land of Hot Water and Sound. There's a lot of woods area there, but I know Hinata. She won't give up so easily. She'll make it." He said and turned to walk off.

"Wait, what are you going to do? Are you going after Hinata?"

"Don't try to stop me, lady." He stopped, but did not turn around.

"I wasn't going to." He nodded and started to walk again when she called him. "Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha!" He stopped and looked back at her. "If you don't find my maiko, don't bother to come back."

Naruto snorted. "Lady, obviously you don't know me. I _will_ find Hinata. That's a promise. I never make promises lightly because that's my nindo way. I will find Hinata and I will bring her back!"

* * *

Hinata was exhausted. She hardly slept at all and when she did it was only for a brief few minutes before some rustling of the leaves, snapping of twigs and distant malevolent hisses and growls woke her up. The light was weak, but enough for her to see a bit. She had a headache that felt as if someone pounded her brain with a sledgehammer. Her muscles felt sore and stiff. And she was so thirsty! She stood up and for a brief moment she felt dizzy and had to hold onto the tree for support, her hands were trembling. She felt so weak and cold. She had to get something to eat, no drink something first. She looked around her, forgetting which way she had to go. She had to do the directional status again as the sun was now rising behind her, but her thought processes seemed to be moving in molasses. It should have been easy for her to figure out that she still had to go right, but she just couldn't seem to make the connection fast enough. It was then that she realized that she was in worse danger than she thought. She was dehydrated and lacking sleep. If she didn't get water soon, she wouldn't make it to see Naruto; she might not make it to see the sunset.

Change of plans. She was back to thinking about geography. She needed to find a river or a stream or creek or anything that was a viable water source. Kumo was to the north and though she remembered her geography teacher specifically saying that it was a fallacy that all rivers flowed from north to south, she did remember that he also said most of the rivers in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Sound (well, it was called the Land of Rice Fields back when she was in school) had their sources in the Kumo mountains. If that was the case, then Hinata had to travel in an east to west direction in order to come upon a river. She turned and headed towards the morning sun. Her head was killing her. The only thing keeping her going was Naruto. She imagined him standing right next to her telling her that she couldn't give up, just like he did when he forced her to do back exercises. Slowly, she edged forwards, gripping onto trees for support, but careful of thorns.

She had been walking for hours, but she was surprisingly not sweaty, only cold. Her pupils were jumping and her head felt dizzy. She was feeling sick to her stomach and she had no idea if that was due to the guilt she was feeling or because of the dehydration and sleep deprivation. She could no longer hold it in. She turned and threw up violently, bringing up nothing but bile. She stood up and again felt dizzy and had to hold onto a tree. She had to keep going. She made three steps before she stumbled and fell. It was then that she heard the low growl. She looked up and there watching her was a wolf and then another and then another.

She slowly got up. She tried to stay really still and stare them off. Really she did. But her body was too weak and she began to sway. They snarled, baring long fangs. She had no other option but to head up the tree that was right behind her. She turned, not giving a second's thought to whether she could _actually_ climb the tree, but her fear fuelled by adrenaline gave her all the strength and skill she needed and soon she was skittering up the tree like a rather well-dressed monkey. She had made it up to the first branch and looked down at the three wolves that were circling the tree, howling and snarling as they did so. She was standing on one branch, hugging her body close to the trunk, thanking God that wolves couldn't climb trees.

Yes, wolves knew that they couldn't climb trees, but they also knew an easy meal when they saw one. They were smart animals, so it didn't take them long to figure out a way to get their next meal. One wolf stayed at the foot of the tree, the other looked on from the other side of the tree and the third stalked back a few feet. Hinata watched them with an odd curiosity. What were they going to do? Suddenly she saw the third wolf take off in a sprint, leap onto the first wolf's back in an attempt to scramble onto the tree. It had reached close as she got a close up view of its bared teeth.

Good lord! She was being outsmarted by wolves!

They were regrouping to try again. Hinata looked up. She had to get to a higher branch. She knew she barely had the strength to make it, but she had to. She stretched her leg onto another branch, forcing herself up. This branch was still too close. She had to go higher. As she lifted her leg she felt the pull and slipped. One of the wolves had grabbed onto the tail end of her dangling obi! The creature was hanging its full weight from her obi, while the others looked up at her in anticipation of her fall. She hugged her legs close to her body and struggled to pull herself up, but she was so weak! She was not going to give up. With every last drop of dying energy she struggled to pull herself up, feeling her muscles burning, her heart feeling like it was going to tear out of her chest from the effort. She managed to rise up just enough to drag half her body onto the branch when with a surge of effort the wolf's hold on her obi tightened and it pulled her down to the ground in one movement. She fell, hitting her head hard against the earth and cried out as the animals circled her. She closed her eyes, bracing for their harsh bites, but heard instead a wounded yelp followed by the sweetest voice she had ever heard in her entire life.

"HINATA!"

Hinata's eyes remained closed. She was dreaming, wasn't she? Naruto could never be here, not here, not now. Distantly she heard two more yelps followed by the calling of her name. She was so tired. She should just give into the tiredness and maybe then all this excitement would end. She was a simple girl, how did she end up in these situations that would have been better suited to a ninja? She was a geisha and somehow she had fallen into some other person's pathetic life where they got kidnapped by insane rogue ninjas and then got lost in the woods only to be attacked by wolves.

"Hinata? Hinata?"

Hinata slowly opened her eyes.

He was blurry, but she could make out his messy blond hair and bright orange jumpsuit.

"N-N-Naruto?"

"Yeah, Hinata, it's me. Here drink this, drink slowly."

He propped her up on his shoulder as she drank from his small canteen water full of electrolytes. He had to admit that she looked horrible. Her eyes were sunken with heavy, dark bags underneath them. Most of her makeup had rubbed off, but not all, giving her an odd, splotchy and ghostly look. Certain sections of her hair had come undone and were hanging in a tangled mess past her waist. Her lips were cracked and dry. The hem of her kimono was filthy with mud, her left sleeve with dried and now blackened blood. The soles of her tabi had holes, her feet cut up badly. He looked her over wondering from where the blood came. Inexplicably the Kyuubi let out a low chuckle.

"Are you injured?" He asked her.

"N-no, just...a kunai to my shoulder, but...but it's...bandaged now." Her throat felt dry still, but the water was helping. He was saying something or the other, but she was so tired. She felt as if the clouds of darkness were parting letting in sunshine that was driving away the darkness of doubt. She was going to make it. With a relief, she wilfully passed out.

When she awoke she smelled something burning. She could make out in front of her a small fire with a crude spit over it and some sort of creature being roasted over it. It smelt divine. There was still light and she figured that it was mid-afternoon. They were now in a clearing of some sort, for lack of a better word, since it simply had less trees, really. Her head was against something firm. It was not a tree. It felt more like cloth and muscle and it was then that she remembered Naruto. She stirred and turned to see that she was sitting between Naruto's legs, her head propped against his shoulders as he leaned back against a tree. She looked up at him and he smiled.

"Wolf. It's what for dinner."

"You killed them?"

"Only one. The leader. Are you feeling bad about the wolf?"

"Not the wolf," She added cryptically and turned her head to face the fire as she remembered Sasuke. There was an ache in her chest which she felt sure was there due to a physical manifestation of her guilt.

"Nayako's in the hospital."

"What!"

"She'll be alright. She got beat up pretty bad by those nin, but nothing's wrong with her mouth. She still has plenty of energy to tell me off."

"What happened to her? Where is she now? How did you find me?" She had so many questions!

"She's in a hospital in the Land of Hot Water, not far from the border. Pervy Sage found her while I was in the village training. At first I was so pissed at her for leaving you –"

"She didn't leave me."

"I know. She told me what happened. She's not so bad after all. I think I'll hold a temporary truce with sister-in-law."

Hinata blushed for the first time in months. He always had that effect on her. She turned to look at him.

"S-s-sister-in-law?"

He looked at her a bit sheepishly and grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. She smiled back at him, but it soon faded and Naruto watched her curiously as she turned away from him.

"You alright? What happened?"

"I...I was...kidnapped."

"WHAT!" Hinata flinched and he quickly apologized for nearly making a sonic boom next to her ears. "Did they harm you? How did you get out of there? What happened?" He frantically asked as he turned her face to him, but was shocked to see tears pooling in her eyes. "Hinata..."

"I...I...I'm so sorry." She sobbed and turned away from him. She made to get up, but he pulled her back into him and hugged her tighter.

"What happened, Hina? What happened? Did they…do something…indecently to you?"

"I'm so, so sorry Naruto-san. Please forgive me." She was using formal speech with him again, but this time it didn't irk him; it only worried him further. "I...I...stabbed him with my kanzashi and left him for dead! I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Shh, hush, Hina-hime." He muttered to her as he rocked her, his mind reeling with the dark chuckles from the Kyuubi as it muttered _bunny bared her fangs_. He supposed that desperate times called for desperate measures but he was amazed that Hinata was capable of such violence. He was proud of her, yet he felt an uneasiness from the Kyuubi's mysterious chuckling. "It's alright, Hina. You did what you had to do."

"It's not alright." She whispered.

"It is. You got taken by a band of rogue nin. Who knows what they planned on doing to you. As a ninja, I have to get into fights with people who are trying to _kill_ me, not hurt me."

Hinata did not have the courage to correct him. She was not kidnapped by rogue nin, but just one ninja in particular.

"Have…have you ever k-k-killed anyone?"

"Uh...no, but I suppose if I have to..."

"What about your friend, Mr. B?"

Naruto was taken aback by the question and he faltered over it. "Well..."

"What's his name?" She asked quietly, hoping against all hope that he'd give her another name, praying that Sasuke was lying to her. Naruto supposed that he might as well let her know the name of one of the most important individuals in his life.

"His name is Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto said it so casually and it was like a punch to the gut for her. She took a deep breath and turned to face him. She was so close to him that she could actually see the bright blues of his eyes, though a bit blurrily.

"Would you kill him if you had to?"

Naruto thought this over. He wanted to give her an honest answer. He wanted to give himself an honest answer. "I know that Sasuke went to live with that paedophile," Hinata winced as she remembered Sasuke's reaction to that piece of information, "but right now he's just misguided. He's not corrupted as yet. Right now, I don't think I would have it in me to kill him. And besides, it would go against everything I stand for. I want to save Sasuke. I want to let him know that there is so much that he could have instead of throwing away his life seeking revenge on his psycho brother. I could never betray him like that. And I don't know how I'd be able to live with myself. He's like a brother to me. I mean, his own brother didn't even kill him. Sasuke means too much for me to lose him."

Right. If Hinata didn't know better she would have thought that Naruto was guilting her on purpose.

"Why'd you ask?"

She got as far as opening her mouth, but no words came out. Instead she shook her head and turned away from him as she hugged her knees and rest her head on them. So Sasuke wasn't lying? Did that mean that everything else he said was true? Did that mean that she was really a Konoha resident with one of the most powerful dojutsu kekkei genkai ever? She raised her head and looked at the back of her hand. So many people used that phrase – like the back of my hand – to describe knowing something so well. She hardly knew the back of her hand because since ever it was a _blurry_ back of hand. If Sasuke was right, how did she end up in Kumo? And what about Nayako? Did she know who Hinata truly was? She had sacrificed herself for her maiko. How could she be lying to Hinata all these years? It seemed impossible.

And more importantly, what about Naruto? How could Naruto _not_ know who she was if he was a resident of Konoha? She thought of Naruto. He was not that kind of a guy to lie to her. He was so sweet and always willing to believe the best in people, kind of like her. But she had a glimpse into Sasuke's heart. Clearly he was a very disturbed individual willing to kill her if he didn't get his way. Does Naruto really know his best friend like he thinks he does? Hinata knew that she would be breaking his heart to learn the truth about what happened in that underground room. All of this was getting to be too much, way too much.

"Hina,"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"I nearly lost my mind when I heard that you were lost in these woods. I was so angry at Nayako because I knew that she took you away all those months ago when I last saw you in that village near the Hidden Grass Village, only to learn that I might not ever see you again. When I thought that she had left you, well...it was the first time that I was tempted to hit an unarmed woman. It didn't help that the Kyuubi was cheering me on. But then I thought: how would Hinata view me knowing that I hurt her sister? Hurting her would mean hurting you and I don't ever want to hurt you. I care for you."

Oh the irony, Hinata thought. His words felt like another punch to the gut. Again, she opened her mouth to tell him, but no sound came out; only managing a half-hearted smile. He cared for her so much, how could she hurt him like that? How could she lose him like that? She tried so hard, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

Something was wrong. Something had happened to her, but she was reluctant to tell him, Naruto thought. He had so many questions like, where did the blood on her sleeve come from? And, who bandaged the wound on her shoulder? How did she manage to get a one-up on trained rogue nin? He thought about pestering her until she confessed, but Hinata was not like Sakura or even Granny Tsunade. She would not yell at him to leave her alone or in frustration end up telling him whatever it was that she was hiding. Instead, she would sink further into herself, closing him off from her until he would eventually lose her. He would let her keep her secrets until she was ready. He would have to prove to her that he would not let her down. He doubted that whatever happened could make him hate her. In the meanwhile he would act as normal.

"I'm hungry!" He suddenly declared. "Feeling for some wolf jerky, Hina?" She nodded, unexpectedly smiling weakly at him, thinking that he was amazing and he cared for her and she was going to break his heart, but she just couldn't do it. She just couldn't lose him.

"I think we should stay here for the night. You need the rest, though it looks like we'll be sleeping on the ground. Or you could use me as your bed if you want. I have no problem with that." He smiled slyly at her.

"Or maybe we could use my obi as a makeshift hammock?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the suggestion. He would have never have thought of that. They would be off the ground and comfortable. Sounded like a pretty good idea. She smiled genuinely, feeling for the first time in a long time that she was useful.

They ate the wolf. After the animal was skinned and gutted, it really didn't amount to much. It was quite a scraggly canine and Hinata understood why it had put all that effort into trying to make a meal of her. She would have felt badly but hunger nullified her guilt. They drank some more water that Naruto had boiled using calabash gourds as impromptu containers. Naruto handed her some mint leaves to chew on afterwards and he did the same, in an attempt to get the taste of wolf out of their mouths. He was incredibly self-sufficient and she felt like she was learning a lot from him.

Hinata turned around to allow Naruto to untie her obi upon which Naruto realized that it was much more complicated task that it seemed. There was an assortment of cords and clasps and padding all to keep it in place and hold the shape of the knot. It took him ten minutes to untie it all the while resisting the temptation to take out a kunai and slash through the fabric. By the time he was done he was holding up four yards or twelve feet of heavy silk brocade. Her kimono fell to the sides but he knew that she had on an underrobe underneath that was tied shut with a cord. Amusingly he remembered Lee with his leg weights and he wondered just how fast Hinata was able to move now that she was no longer tied down like this. He decided to test it out. He bundled up most of the cloth in one hand and with the other he ran a finger down the nape of her neck. She jumped and squeaked and looked back at him in surprise.

"Tickles?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Admirably, she tried to pretend that she never even heard of the word.

"Tickles? Who me? I-I-I don't have t-tickles." She stuttered something or the other and Naruto was left looking at Hinata who had the look of 'tell' on her face. She looked like she just got caught shoplifting.

"Uh huh." Naruto launched his attack. His finger darted to her waist, dodging past her kimono and onto her underrobe. She squealed and slapped his hand away only for his hand to dart onto the other side of her waist. He pulled back and stuck his forefinger in his mouth, pulled it out and ran a wet digit at the side of her neck.

"Naruto!" She squealed in protest, but he was happy to see that she was wearing a smile. He pinched the side of her ribcage and she slapped his hand away. He pulled back and was about to pinch her again, but she anticipated his move and slapped him again. It went on like that for a while, until he blurted out,

"I can't get past you! It's like you have the Sharingan." He joked, but Hinata's body instantly froze as she nearly choked on her saliva. "What? What's the matter?" He asked as he stepped even closer to her. Suddenly he tilted his face to the side and Hinata saw his eyebrows dip in confusion, and then rise in recognition.

"Oh no." He said.

"Naruto?" He had figured it out, hadn't he? He had figured out who was her kidnapper.

"Hinata, don't panic, but you have a leech on you."

For a brief moment Hinata was actually relieved to have a blood-sucking parasite on her when compared to the alternative. But then reality sunk in. "WHAT!"

Naruto turned and broke a twig off a tree, walked over to the fire and pushed the branch into the flames. "Come over here, Hinata." She did as told. The leech was stuck to the top of her chest, just poking out from her underrobe. She looked down to see the black, shiny worm-like creature and she instantly averted her eyes. Such things were so disgusting! "Heat kills them." He said as he took the stick out of the fire and pressed it against the creature. It wiggled and wriggled and eventually fell off dead, leaving a red blotch on her skin. "They ooze something that makes you unable to feel the area they're on."

"A local anaesthetic," Hinata murmured.

"Yeah that, so you wouldn't know if they were on you."

Hinata and Naruto both looked at each other. She could have more on her now and she didn't know. Instantly she threw off her kimono and untied the cord securing her underrobe shut, exposing her underwear clad body to him. She was terrified to look.

"Oh my God!" Naruto screamed.

"What? Don't tell me there's a whole family on me."

"No, that's not it. It's just that...you're smoking hot!"

Hinata opened her eyes and stared at Naruto who had burst out into laughter. She closed her underrobe and tied the cord around her a bit tighter than necessary. Naruto was still laughing.

"It wasn't that funny, Naruto." Naruto laughed even harder. She had on her angry face, but her voice with its soft, marshmallowy bounce stripped the effect.

"Yes it was! You should have seen the look on your face! Ha!"

She tried to stay angry, really she did, but soon she too was cracking up. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her forehead, then came down and kissed the top of her nose and then very gently he kissed her lips. He had missed her so much! "Come on, let's go to bed." Hinata blushed furiously, thinking that Naruto really needed to learn the importance of words and their meanings.

The obi was long, though it was not as wide and so Hinata did find herself pressed up against Naruto, with half of her body atop him, but they were comfortable as long as rain didn't fall. Well, he was mostly comfortable. Her shoulder was aching, even more than it was this morning and she was shivering, though she suspected it was not just from the cold, you understand. Being pressed up against Naruto like that was taking its toll on Hinata, together with the fact that something was pressing up against her leg and she knew it wasn't just his kunai pack.

Night had properly fallen and it had to have been sometime around eleven o'clock, Naruto guessed. He was not tired and even if he was he was not about to get any sleep with the way Hinata was trembling. Her shivering was almost violent. Her body felt hot, and not in an I'm-so-horny sort of way. Rather, her skin was hot to the touch. She was sweating furiously. She had a scorching fever. He couldn't see much of her in the darkness, but he was positive that her face was most likely flushed with the fever. She was asleep, but she was muttering nonsense in her sleep like "I didn't mean to use you" and "he's stronger than you know" and "hero complex." Where was this coming from? She was lying halfway atop him and he suddenly remembered that she had a wound on her right shoulder. He touched the back of her shoulder where it had been bandaged and his hand came away wet with blood. It had reopened. It must be infected! Shit!

"Hinata! Hinata! Wake up!"

She stirred and woke but it was clear that she was delirious. "Hinata we have to leave right now. We have to get you to a hospital." Through a series of careful movements he untangled himself from her and from the obi-hammock, and then proceeded to take her down. She could barely stand. He made a clone and the clone helped him put Hinata onto his back while he absently thought that almost every time he saw her he ended up carrying her somewhere. He commanded the clone to put out the fire as he leapt onto a tree and hurried to the nearest hospital which was in the Land of Hot Water. In a way he supposed this was a good thing that he had to move a bit earlier than expected because he couldn't get rid of the suspicion that someone was watching him.

* * *

While Naruto was busy trying to save Hinata, Nayako was having her wrist restraints cut by a nurse.

"Finally." She muttered. "You people act like I'm some sort of criminal. Get away from me before I start to act like one." She glared at the nurse. It was a stare so caustic that the nurse hurried out of the room mumbling something or the other about alerting the doctor.

Nayako sat up and rubbed her wrists and thought of Hinata. She hoped to God that the demon brat was true to his word.

"Glad to see that you're finally up." Jiraiya said and Nayako looked up with a beaming smile in place.

"Jiraiya! I'm so sorry that you have to see me like this. I hope a rose is still called by any other name." She batted her eyes at him and Jiraiya had to remind himself that he came here with a purpose.

"Of course. Speaking of names, how come you let your maiko keep her name? Most apprentice geisha usually take a part of their sister's name. She should have been called Naya something or the other. Aren't you afraid that it's too obvious that there's a missing girl with white Hyuuga eyes named Hinata last seen in Kumo?"

Nayako's smile dropped and her eyes narrowed. So Jiraiya knew all along, she thought. She and Jiraiya had a lot of talking to do.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. I also do not own Aaliyah's version of the Isley Brother's song, 'At your best'.

**A/N: Edited - 2012 December 16**

* * *

Jiraiya looked at Nayako with her bandaged arms and legs and knew that underneath her standard hospital issue white cotton kimono, her torso and chest were also heavily bandaged, but surprisingly her face remained untouched. He had to smile inwardly at this. Nayako was not stupid; quite far from it. She knew her strengths and Jiraiya would bet his last note that Nayako protected her face from any beatings like a mother would protect her newborn baby. And for good reason too. He looked down at her with her impossibly long lashes, defined cheekbones and pouty lower lip and thought that she was good temptation. She was in the right job as a geisha, but maybe, just maybe she would have made an excellent ninja for Nayako barely had any reaction to his last statement. He had known her for years when he spent some hedonistic years in Kumo chasing after girls for 'research' purposes, but she was the one that captured his attention. It was during that time that he came to be enchanted and overtaken by geisha. They were not prostitutes, rather, their entire career hinged on flirtation and hopeful promises that men never failed to fall for – the definitive carrot-and-horse operant conditioning. The geisha art was the ultimate delayed climax for a man. In that sense, they were incredibly dangerous, but maybe Nayako was more dangerous than just in terms of breaking men's hearts. Maybe he didn't know her at all.

"So, are you planning on answering me or not? Why do you have Hinata here? And why are you hiding her in plain sight?"

"Why are you only now saying something?"

"You honestly thought that I didn't recognize a Hyuuga?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I knew you knew. If you didn't you should feel ashamed and be stripped of your title of Sannin. I just want to know why you didn't say something earlier."

"Would it have mattered?"

"Yes. It would have kept some worry lines off of my face since I wouldn't have been wondering what your next move would be."

"If you're so worried, why did you take her in the first place? How did you even manage to do that?"

"It wasn't that hard. When I was thirteen years old my brother tried to kidnap her when he went to a Konoha peace meeting. Hiashi Hyuuga tracked him down, killed him and saved his daughter. Everybody knows that, well...except the part that that Head ninja was my brother. In those days my brother lived in a small cabin on the outskirts of Kumo. It's where we grew up with our parents before they died. After our parents died, my brother thought it best if I were to be a geisha since my other career option was...suddenly derailed when I was eight years old."

Jiraiya wondered what was her other 'career option', but he said nothing; he had his vague suspicions as to what it was.

"I was sold into an okiya, but I didn't like it, maybe since I started off as a maid doing hard, disgusting, back-breaking work. They thought that I would have made a horrible geisha because to be honest Jiraiya, I'm not that nice of a person."

"I believe you." He smiled and she rolled her eyes, but still returned the smile. She continued,

"But I was patient and I waited five years before I took the best opportunity to run away and go back to the house I lived in as a child. I met my brother there and he told me that he was heading to Konoha. He would try to steal the Hyuuga eyes or maybe the Sharingan if he got the opportunity. If he made it, he would be promoted to an even better job than head ninja of one of the many groups that dealt with negotiations. The Head Ninja title meant little more than glorified messenger. With bringing in Hyuuga eyes however, he might even retire early with an honour like that – bringing in Hyuuga eyes, that is, and maybe then I wouldn't have to be a maid. But things didn't quite work out as we planned. Nonetheless, I still ended up with Hyuuga eyes in my possession when Hinata washed up on the banks just a stone's throw away from our house. Imagine my surprise."

"So, why didn't you take her eyes?"

"Because they're sealed."

Something ticked in Jiraiya's head as he wondered how an ordinary teenage citizen recognized a sealing so easily. There was something that she wasn't saying.

"Were you hoping that the seal would have weakened over time or something? Why did you keep her around? Very easily you could have pushed back a five year old into the river. You would have gotten revenge for your brother and no one would have known that you could have saved her."

"How heartless do you think I am?"

She smiled just then, rather incongruously to her statement, and Jiraiya thought, _absolutely heartless_.

"I don't know," he replied, "You've kept a man away from his daughter for years. That isn't heartless?"

"To some, but you don't know the entire story."

"Are you planning on telling me the entire story?"

"Maybe, if you would stop interrupting me." Jiraiya chuckled and offered a smile for an apology. "My options were limited with my brother dead. I had to go back to the okiya. I was only thirteen years old with not much skill. I needed to go back to the okiya, but this time I had a bargaining chip."

"You had a girl with the most beautiful eyes ever." Jiraiya finished for her.

"Yes. Aunty took one look at Hinata's eyes and instantly she did some quick maths on how much money Hinata could bring in as a geisha. No one questioned anything. I went into geisha training immediately. That was my condition for letting the okiya have Hinata. It was just a business deal. She was always meant to be a bargaining chip for me to get a better life."

"But she's more than just a bargaining chip to you now, isn't she? You care for her like a sister, don't you?"

Nayako did not answer him. She turned her head to look out the window in an attempt to emote an air of nonchalance. He knew the look well. He saw it often on Tsunade. Tsunade tried so hard to keep her heart away from people, but she just couldn't do it. She tried to be tough with Naruto, but she just couldn't do it, she just couldn't. And it was the same with Nayako and Hinata. It was only those people who saw the brightest of lights flash before their eyes right before the darkness came who would be so terrified of the light again. Nayako and Tsunade saw themselves as walking disasters, death following them like a mantle. She was terrified of losing Hinata, yet strived so hard to keep her at arm's length. Those kinds of people were not the ones that believed in the saying that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. People like Nayako and Tsunade definitely did not believe that, but at the end of the day they were only human.

"You have a hard time showing her just how much you care, but the reality is Nayako, Hinata does not belong to you. She is Hyuuga and she belongs in Konoha." Nayako still did not remove her gaze from the window. It was late now. Almost one in the morning and the hospital was quiet. He placed a hand on her bandaged hand, but she pulled away.

"When I first came across you with Hinata, I didn't know what to make of the situation. I've known you for years. You're a captivating person and I like you. You make me feel comfortable and I just like being with you, though I know that you probably only like me because of the money I give you when you entertain me." She kept her gaze fixated on the window and he was a little saddened that she did not try to contradict him. She would have if she were entertaining him.

"I had a lot of things to consider. Hiashi is not a forgiving man. You would be killed. He's also the reason that I stilled my hand. Hiashi is a cold man. I don't know if he was always that way or if it was because he lost his daughter, wife and brother to this incident that he eventually wanted to give away no more of himself. His last daughter has suffered because of this. He is cold and unforgiving and she is the same way. The Hyuuga way of life is harsh and I'm not sure that Hinata would be able to handle it. She simply does not seem suited to life as a ninja. She's too sweet and innocent. The fact that she is still that way after spending so much time with you is a testament to her virtue."

Nayako turned her head to give him a wry smile and he returned it with a slightly raised eyebrow. She laughed and he thought that he was in a dangerous situation.

"And then I thought of Naruto." He saw her smile slide off of her face at the mention of the boy's name. Why did she hate him so much? "I wasn't expecting him to fall for her three seconds after he met her. You sure taught her well."

"Not well enough." She muttered, but he ignored her.

"I want to save that kid from heartbreak. It's difficult to be with her as a geisha, but back home Hiashi would skin him alive for being with Hinata. The boy won't have a chance."

"He should get used to heartbreak. It'll be a life lesson."

"God, you'd be a horrible teacher."

"Ah, well you know what they say – those who can't do: teach and those who can't teach should just ruin everybody else's lives." She said and they fell into an easy chuckle that tapered too quickly.

"But after all that I realized that I can't keep a girl away from her family. It's only right that I do the right thing. But then I realized that Sasuke was coming to Kumo to see your maiko."

Nayako snapped up to look at him.

"Yeah, I know he was there the night of the Ichimokari incident."

"Didn't you tell me that your no-good apprentice is looking for Sasuke? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't say anything because I know that right now, Sasuke would crush Naruto. Naruto's not ready for Sasuke. Not yet, not right now. But more so, I wanted to know what his interest in Hinata was. You might not have been able to corrupt her, but what about Sasuke? What did he want with her? Why didn't Hinata tell Naruto that Sasuke was there at the teahouse that night? What loyalty does she have to him? Does she prefer Sasuke? What are his plans for her? I needed to wait and see what's going on. Naruto would be crushed if he knew that his girl was also with his best friend."

"You speak out of turn! Don't sully my maiko's name like that! You speak of her virtue then say something like that? How dare you! She is no common prostitute. She is a geisha. All she ever did was entertain that worthless Sasuke and I wish that she never did." If ever he doubted that she cared about Hinata, he was now proven that she did. After a few moments of silence she said, "I saw him. He was there when we got attacked at the border of Sound. I saw him go into the forest after her. I saw him."

Jiraiya digested this new information. Was this orchestrated? Did Sasuke plan to take Hinata? What was Hinata's role? And Naruto. He went after her. Would he meet up with Sasuke?

"You're right, you know. She has affected me more than I like to admit. I originally wanted to use her as a bargaining chip with the okiya, but I soon realized that I didn't need her. Believe it or not, when I am ready I have the ability to be quite charming and so I was successful as a geisha." Jiraiya believed her. "But I couldn't let her go. I tried so hard to keep her as close to me as possible, but still keep her at a distance. She ended up in a very different life from what she was supposed to be, but it seems her ninja life is never far behind her. I tried to run to Sand when it felt like Konoha was closing in on me, but. . . At the end of the day I'm going to lose her . . . maybe to Naruto, maybe to Sasuke or maybe back to her own family. But I will lose her. You can do whatever you want, Jiraiya. Naruto might come back with a dead girl – dead at the hands of his best friend. Or he may come back with her and then you can take her back to Konoha. Anyhow you take it, I lose."

"Hmm...Nayako, I like you, I really do, but there are always consequences to our actions and I suppose yours are only just catching up to you. Naruto's training won't be finished for another few months. There's something brewing, something big in the ninja world and I intend on finding out what's going on. It might affect us all..." His eyes dimmed as he thought of the lurking and looming threat, but shook free of the momentary distraction.

"Anyway, I'll keep my mouth shut for a few months again. Naruto'll have a few more months of a geisha girlfriend –" Her face turned to scorn and he quickly reneged his words, "– I mean, he'll have a geisha _friend_. When we get back to Konoha he'll be on his own having to deal with trying to date, I mean, befriend a Hyuuga heiress. If Sasuke comes into her life again, well...I'll deal with the fallout of that later. You'll have some more time with Hinata. I know you won't run. You wouldn't want someone like Naruto hunting you down. He doesn't tire; he doesn't give up."

"I've realized how indefatigable he is."

"What are you going to do? Are you going to go into hiding? Because Hiashi will not accept a decade long abduction of his daughter. He will want you dead."

"I'll accept my death gracefully."

Jiraiya snorted. He knew that she was thinking of a way to escape the situation.

"You're confident that your charge will find her alive. What if he doesn't?"

He wanted to embrace her, if only once, but he also felt a diminished tolerance for her.

"You still won't get off free. Naruto will blame you and he _will_ kill you. Sorry, but I'm not sure if I'll hold him back."

Nayako nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Any which way, I lose," she muttered, but he could see that her mind was busy thinking of a way to get out of the predicament.

* * *

Hinata woke with a start. She jumped back only to realize that she would only be sinking further into a bed. A hospital bed. Her heart rate eventually slowed when she pieced together the reality clips and discarded the ones from her dreams. Those clips were filled with images of Sasuke coughing blood into her face, his expression changing from satisfaction, to shock to one of deadly intentions. But when he spoke in her dreams, he had Naruto's voice, but he was saying such cruel things to her. The scenes in her head would switch from an underground darkness to the eerie, shadowed grounds of a forest at night.

She took a deep breath and tried her best to focus only on the here and now. She was in a hospital, in a room to herself. There was faint din outside her door, someone carelessly had on a radio for she could hear soft music. The light in her room reminded her of dusk with its faint orange glow streaming in from the window on her right. Her hair was loose and hanging around her. She was dressed in a simple white cotton kimono that ended at her knees. There was slight pain in her right shoulder, but not like the throbbing she had before. Her right hand was in a sling which served the purpose of limiting the movement in her right shoulder. She had a slightly more intense headache than the constant one she usually had because of all the squinting she did. She was mildly hungry and sat up with some effort. She leaned most of her weight on her left hand, but still any movement sent bits of pain spasms in her right shoulder, reminding her that everything in the body is connected. No one was in her room and she was glad for that.

She had entered a contradictory state of mind where all she wanted was to be with Naruto, yet at the same time couldn't stand to be in his presence. She remembered how he had made her laugh in such a surreal situation as being rescued from the woods and she felt guilty. She shouldn't be allowed to laugh. She shouldn't be allowed any happiness at all. Guilt was something that seemed to stay with her at all times like a physical accompaniment, like a second shadow, a doppelgänger. At times she felt an acute sense of loss of control. The whole situation was something that had very little to do with any conscious decision on her part, yet the outcome came in the form of strict punishment when she attempted to adapt to the situation that she had been thrown into. For that was what she thought; Sasuke wanting her eyes because she was supposedly an heir to one of the most powerful dōjutsu ever was something that she had no hand in at all. Yet, when she finally decided to stop being passive like a feather in the wind and take control in some form, she was punished swiftly with a guilty conscience that threatened to stifle her and a sickening paranoia whenever she thought that she should confess to Naruto. It was as if the universe was telling her that her aberrant act was not accepted, she should remain a meek, naïve and unquestioningly passive participator in life. It was highly upsetting, literally, and as she felt waves of nausea rippling over her, as hastily as she could, she got up and went to the bathroom.

From the window Naruto saw her get up and go the bathroom. He was glad that she was up. She had been properly awake for a few days now, out of her delirium. However, in the last few days her new occupation seemed to be sleeping. She was a champion sleeper; no one could sleep better than her. The doctors said that this was normal, that she had been through a traumatic incident and this was her mind's way of dealing with it. It was a coping mechanism that they were allowing her only for a few days since her body needed the rest anyway. Naruto however, couldn't shake the feeling that she was avoiding him since she seemed only to lapse into a near vegetative state whenever he tried to visit her.

Stealthily he entered her window and sat down in the chair beside her bed. He could only hope that his sudden presence did not give her such a fright that she fainted. He actually longed for those days when she fainted at his mere presence. Something had happened, there was a difference with her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She had told him that she had stabbed a man and left him for dead. Granted something like that would put anyone into mental and emotional disarray, especially someone as innocent and harmless as Hinata, but there was something more (or less, depending on how he looked at it) to her behaviour that was slightly troubling him and he feared that he was losing her.

He hadn't realized just how much he cared for her until she was no longer there. She had left him in the middle of the night when he had last seen her in the small hamlet near the Hidden Grass Village and had set off for somewhere unknown to him. He knew that Nayako-that-bitch was behind it. Before he always knew where she was - in Kumo. But at that time he had no idea where she was. Almost frighteningly obsessively, he wrote letters to her in Kumo and contrived all sorts of feeble excuses to go visit her there. It was only after a morally shameful incident where he threatened the seventy year old Auntie of the okiya that he found out Hinata was in Sand all this time. His behaviour was horrid and the Kyuubi had heartily laughed at him. He supposed that he had to thank Nayako after all. If it weren't for her and her baseless fear of him propelling her to move Hinata away from him, he would never have known just how much he had fallen for Hinata. He had reached a point where he thought that every woman was her, he imagined that he saw her in the street, he saw women with hair like hers only to realize that their hair was a simple and boring black, not the exotic indigo colour hair that Hinata had. Her absence affected him badly and Jiraiya told him that he was in love. He took the Pervy Sage's advice with a teaspoon of salt. What did Jiraiya know about being in love? It was like a fish giving him advice on how to run a marathon, and that was odd on many different levels. But despite the questionable suggestion to his emotional state, he wasn't sure what he felt about _that_, about being in love, but he did know that he couldn't afford to lose her. And he felt as if exactly that was happening. She was so near to him now, yet so far away.

When Hinata exited the bathroom she was visibly shocked to see Naruto there, but then felt silly knowing that Naruto was not someone to give up easily. He would know that she was avoiding him. He was not as stupid as everyone said he was and was thus bound to put two and two together and make out that when he entered the room she would suddenly fall asleep like a common housecat.

"Hey! You're awake! I thought that you had slipped into a coma or something."

She gave him a watery smile as her cheeks coloured in shame. She moved to the bed and he quickly stood to assist her. Gently he helped her into bed, asked if she wanted the coverlet over her, she said no thank you and for a while they simply looked at each other. Her vision had gotten worse, clouding over on her sides and affecting her peripheral vision. Vaguely she could see that he was smiling at her and she realized that soon she won't be able to see him at all.

"You alright?" He asked her in that cheerful and loud voice that she had missed so much.

She nodded her response and when he pulled back from her to straighten up from her she gripped onto his hand. He looked at her expectantly, but she said nothing and he was only a bit disappointed. He wanted her to tell him what was bothering her, but he didn't want to push her because he knew that he would only be pushing her further away.

"So, I heard that you might be released tomorrow." He said as he gently eased himself from her and resumed his seat on the bedside chair. "Pervy Sage and I'll travel back with you and Nayako to Kumo."

"Hmm, I haven't seen Nayako since."

"How could you? Unless you wanted to see her in your dreams." He mumbled bitterly and instantly felt bad for it, especially when he heard the Kyuubi let out a low, appreciative chuckle. She said nothing, only giving him a tight smile and it was as if he felt her pull away from him. This was what he was afraid of. He decided to try for some sort of neutral ground.

"So, I heard you were in Suna. How was that? Had fun?"

She turned her head to him, realizing what he was doing and agreed with it. She craved the normal. Somehow her life was slowly turning to the bizarre. All she wanted was to talk to him and be in his presence. She forcibly pushed her feelings of guilt out of her mind.

"Well, I made friends with the Kazekage."

Naruto's eyes bulged in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. He's young, he's our age. He's not much for conversation, but he seems like he's trying. He's a jinchūriki like you."

"Really? Wow...wait a minute. A jinchūriki? He wouldn't happen to be about yay tall, tomato-red hair, racoon eyes and fighting down the urge to kill people?"

"I'm not sure about the fighting the urge to kill people part, but otherwise, yes."

"That's Gaara! Gaara's the Kazekage? Hmmph! Well would you look at that." Naruto got a bit quiet at that point, unable to hide his envy and feelings of falling behind. Gaara was Kazekage already? Hinata saw this sudden change in mood and responded immediately.

"If you're thinking that you're behind in your goals, stop thinking that way. What you don't have you don't need it now. What hasn't missed you hasn't passed you, so you should be glad that you still have the chance to become the next Hokage."

He looked up at her with clear surprise. "When did you learn Talk no Jutsu?" He asked with a smile. She blushed all sorts of red and said with a smile, "I learn from the best."

"You learned from Nayako?" He joked and she unexpectedly laughed out loud at the thought that Nayako's motivational speeches would probably end in suicide.

They felt a lot more comfortable, though Naruto noticed they avoided one particular topic – what was really bothering Hinata. However, they were perfectly content to pretend that there was no awkwardness between them and for a while it was true. Hinata pushed back her feeling of guilt and instead focused on absorbing all of Naruto, his energy, his smile, his thoughts, everything and she felt happy and she could feel him feeling happy too.

They talked. They talked about Nayako's avoidance of her and how odd it was, though they knew that she was only a few rooms away from Hinata. They spoke of all the funny predicaments Pervy Sage got himself into, almost always because of some woman. They commented on the music that was wafting through the halls and of favourite artistes and that led to a conversation on books on which Naruto was mostly silent, but still interested. He hardly read anything that wasn't a label on a pack of Ramen, but she loved to read despite the migraines she got from squinting when she was younger. These days she had to listen to books on tape or have Nayako read to her. He had excused himself at this point, disappearing for about a half hour and God alone knows how he returned with one of her favourite novels. Hinata was amazed and her face lit up like he had just rescued her from a pack of rabid wolves...again. He read to her, but was soon yawning too much for her to get much out of the story and she laughed at his valiant effort to pretend to be interested in the story being read. She appreciated his gesture, however. They talked about Sand and Gaara. He told her about his fight with Gaara. At the mention of Sasuke's name her face took on a clouded expression that he assumed was her sympathetic nature to feel his pain of not having his best friend with him. She was lost in her mind for a while, but he continued talking in the hopes that she would eventually come back to him. He saw her still herself and take a deep breath before she turned to him again, this time a bit more like the Hinata he knew and he felt proud of her.

"Ay uh, Hina? I was supposed to tell you how proud of you I am. I know that we're different, but I also know that you're just like me. You can be a fighter when you try. I'm really proud of you, that you were able to survive out there all on your own. That's amazing. You once told me that you wanted amazing moments, well, that's amazing and you're even more amazing!"

Had it been under slightly different circumstances, like say she hadn't just stabbed his best friend before she got lost in the woods, she too might have felt proud for having survived under such harrowing conditions. As it was, the guilt came back threefold and she almost told him what really happened, how she ended up in the woods with blood on her kimono and a couple kanzashi less. But when she looked at him, he was beaming at her with such adoration that she could feel his pride and happiness radiating off of him like a bright yellow glow and she knew that she didn't have it in her to break his heart. She just didn't.

Naruto noticed the change in her. He was losing her. He had to bring her back.

"Dance with me." He said suddenly. She gave him something resembling a smile.

"I don't want to dance."

"Oh come on, you've never danced with me or for me. I have a geisha girlfriend who's the best dancer in all of Kumo and I've never seen her dance. You went all the way to Sand to dance for Gaara and you can't dance for me? How bad will it look? What do I have to do to get a dance? Do I have to talk like this?" He said as he lowered his voice into Gaara's signature monotonous angst-ridden tone. She laughed and shook her head at him, feeling a strange mixture of guilt and romance.

"My shoulder, remember?" She said as a last ditch lame excuse.

"Don't worry, we'll just one-two step."

She smiled at him as she shook her head in amused exasperation. He was up and was leading her off the bed, which was easy as she gave no resistance and he smiled mischievously knowing that he had gotten his way. It wasn't much of a dance, but more really a sway on the spot, rent-a-tile movement, but it was nice. Her left hand was on his chest to steady herself and his arms were around her waist. Hinata blushed as she realized that he had asked her to dance to a song from one of her favourite artistes and was gladdened to know that he was listening to her. Though, they couldn't help but think that the lyrics were rather pertinent to their current situation.

'When I feel, what I feel  
Sometimes it's hard to tell you so  
You may not be in the mood to learn  
What you think you know'

Hinata looked up at him at that moment, grateful that she was able to communicate to him what she was feeling without actually having to say anything.

'There are times  
When I find  
You wanna keep yourself from me  
When I don't have the strength  
I'm just a mirror of what I see  
But at your best you are loved  
Your a positive motivating force within my life  
Should you ever feel the need to wonder why  
Let me Know'

Naruto gave her a pointed look and she felt humbled. She looked up at him and she was filled with dread. She had to tell him. It wasn't possible to be that close to someone, yet keep such a burdensome secret. It was too unfair. She gripped him tighter in an effort to steady herself because what she was about to do had her suddenly feeling faint. But then, Naruto moved his left hand to cradle the back of her neck while he gently lifted her chin with his right hand and brought her in for a sensual kiss. She was still feeling weak, though this time it was for a different reason entirely. She wanted to tell him to stop, that she did not deserve his touch, but she could barely think straight as she suddenly felt as if her insides were short-circuiting, fizzing and whirring and she felt her entire body blush. His tongue, soft and caressing, sometimes forceful, but not hurtful – his hand moving down the small of her back – fingers tightening on his jacket – hands clinging to her waist – breasts smashed against his chest – kissing more forcefully, more demanding. He pulled back from her breathless and she called his name, her lips pouty, her face the colour of Gaara's hair.

"Hina..." They were both breathing hard as if they were on the verge of having a heart attack, "I missed you so much..."

"I missed you a lot too." He smiled at her, but she couldn't hold a smile. She looked up at him from dark lashes and found that she couldn't hold his gaze. "Naruto. . ."

"Hinata . . . I love you."

"What?" Hinata's head snapped up and Naruto unexpectedly chuckled at her expression for it had changed to one of severe confusion, the likes more associated with when one just awoke. It was so bizarre on her that he ended up laughing. "I said I love you." He repeated.

"W-w-wh – B-b-b-b-b-"

"B-b-b-bcawk! What?" He laughed again as he mocked her chicken sounding stutters. He found her stuttering adorable. "I said that I love you. I. Love. You."

Hinata stood there with a stunned expression as if she had just gotten hit on the head. She heard him perfectly well, but it was as if her thoughts were two steps behind his and she couldn't respond in time. Heck, she didn't know how to respond. He was shouting it out now. "I love you, Hinata! I love you!" It was like she was moving underwater or in a dream, she simply couldn't react. Dimly, she saw him jumping up and down like an idiot, while she wore the corresponding idiotic facial expression. She saw nurses come into the room begging him to be quiet, he ignored them and soon they were dragging him out of her room. He was quite a force to be reckoned with as he shouted, "Leave me alone! That's the girl I love over there!" Three orderlies and two nurses couldn't hold him back, but a shot of some suspicious liquid did and he crumpled in their arms.

"Be gentle with him!" Hinata shouted as they dragged him away and was surprised to suddenly find back her voice. She was alone and was finally able to come to terms with the situation and what she was feeling. The room was quiet and it took a while before she was able to calm her mind. Before everything that happened, before Sasuke, she would have been jumping up and down with Naruto, the two of them would probably be looking like they were on top of a boat during a storm, pitching from left to right with joy. But now, now all she felt was cruel. He was in love with her and she was in love with him and she was going to break his heart and lose him. It would be catastrophic for him and he would hate her. Tears pooled in her eyes and she sat back down on the bed but immediately jumped back up as something rattled on the bed. She turned around and looked closer, squinting to do so. Her eyes opened wide as her breath hitched and she backed up violently from the bed. There was no mistaking it. Those were her kanzashi pins on the bed, stained black with dried blood. She was terrified to look around, her lips trembling in fear when only a few moments ago they were trembling in pleasure. She turned around and was relieved that Sasuke was not standing behind her. Rather it was a small girl of about ten or eleven years old, Hinata was unsure. Oddly, Hinata found herself wondering whether the little girl had been witness to her very private session with Naruto.

"Hello. I'm Hanabi Hyuuga and we have a lot to talk about."

Hyuuga? Hyuuga! This was a bit too much for Hinata. She was actually quite proud of herself that she had not fainted when Naruto started doing that roll of his tongue in her mouth, but this? This was too much and she was blissfully out before she hit the floor.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N: Edited - 2012 December 16**

* * *

Hanabi thought that she had misjudged Hinata. Her sister apparently was not as light minded as her quiet manner and habits would suggest. This is despite the fact that Hinata now lay passed out on the floor, having just missed the bed when she fainted. Hanabi hoped this fainting thing was a one-off event. She could not see how or why one fainted at the sight of something odd or surprising or unexpected. If that was the case people would never get anything done; only fainting every two minutes, spending all their money at the hospitals treating fainting induced head injuries. Hanabi shook her head. What on earth was she even thinking about? This had been happening to her a lot recently, thinking about unnecessary things and getting severely distracted. She had bigger things to think about, more relevant things, more pressing things like waking up Hinata.

"Hey. Get up." She said as she stretched out a foot to nudge Hinata awake. Hinata stirred and gradually opened her eyes to see Hanabi's stern face staring down at her. "Are you planning on staying there all night? Get up."

For a brief moment Hinata considered doing just that. She could simply close her eyes again and pretend nothing was happening, but instead, she got up. She struggled a bit, as she could only use one hand to prop up herself. Hanabi made no moves to help her off the floor since as far as Hanabi was concerned her sister should be able to do something as simple as getting up; if not, then her entire plan was going to be useless. Hinata's annoyance at this quickly dissipated as she remembered that she should be frightened and she promptly was. She instinctively stepped back only to realize that she was backed up by the bed.

"I'm your sister and I'm not here to hurt you." Hanabi said, but the tone of voice she used suggested otherwise. Hinata looked behind the young girl and towards the door.

"Are you expecting someone to come to you?"

An image of Naruto's eager face came to mind. Almost in a whisper, she heard Hanabi say, "Byakugan." Hinata's eyes were drawn back to the girl in front of her and was a bit taken aback to see that the girl's eyes looked like they were under some sort of strain, but she didn't look like she was in any pain. The veins on the side of her head pushed up from under her skin and her eyes shone just a little bit brighter, her colourless pupils dilated. She looked absolutely intimidating.

"Well, let's see. Your Naruto is passed out three rooms down from here. Your geisha sister is pacing her room; her wounds are healing nicely. Jiraiya is three blocks down from the hospital walking home a nurse and judging from the look on her face, she isn't impressed with his words. The nurses here are busy reading their horoscopes and the other healers are doing rounds. Your chart says that your healer already paid you a visit and he isn't due until the morning. We have all night to talk then."

Hinata wondered if she should scream for help, but quickly discarded the idea. The little girl in front of her was a ninja. It was hard to believe since she looked like not even soaking wet could she muster up a hundred pounds on the scale. But Hinata was not stupid. Hanabi may look like a tiny eleven year old, but Hinata was positive that Hanabi could kill her and with minimal effort on her part too. She wore confidence proudly and it seemed to add more height and weight to her and Hinata felt as if she had to look up to the little girl. It wasn't just confidence however, it was pride. Her throat felt dry and for the first time she noticed that her heart rate was beating abnormally fast. She took in a deep breath trying to calm it down.

"H-h-how did you get those kanzashi pins?"

"I've been tracking you for a little while now. If I were just a day earlier you wouldn't have had to go through this mess."

"How did –"

"How did I find you? That's a silly question." Hanabi blinked once as if to emphasize exactly why the question was so silly and Hinata indeed felt a bit ridiculous. Clearly, tracking someone was something this girl did expertly and was expected to do expertly because of her eyes.

"Why are –"

"Why am I tracking you? Now there's a better question. You really have to learn to be surer of yourself, make fewer mistakes. It'll help you to ask fewer silly questions."

Hinata blinked at her, a cow like expression on her face. Was this little girl seriously giving her advice as if she were an older sister? Then the memory of what Sasuke said came to her so clearly it was as if he was in the room with her and had just said it. _You have another sister. She's quite skilled, but she's too arrogant_. Yep, the girl in front of her definitely had the arrogance part down.

"I don't t-t-think the question was very s-silly." Hinata mumbled; her eyes trained on the ground.

"If you mean that I should have found you earlier then I should explain that the only reason I'm now finding you is because we weren't looking before. And by 'we', I mean, your family – the Hyuugas."

Hinata's head snapped up. "Sasuke-san wasn't lying?"

"He told you? I suppose I wouldn't believe him either. Is that why you stabbed him? You thought that he was lying and had kidnapped you for some other reason?"

"I…I thought that he was…insane."

"I don't know if he's insane, but he does have an unhealthy fixation on revenge. What did he say he wanted with you?"

"He wanted t-t-t-to use my eyes."

"What? He already has the Sharingan. Where was he going to put your eyes?"

"No, he wanted to train me to sp-sp-spy for him with m-m-my eyes, but he said that he would have to break the seal first. I didn't know what he was talking about. It sounded so farfetched and crazy that I didn't believe him. It was just t-t-too out there."

"So you stabbed him? Exactly how did that happen?"

"I-I-I kissed him." The words tumbled and tripped out of her mouth. She hadn't realized that her confessions were pushing against her teeth, just waiting for her to say them. "I didn't want to, you understand. It's just that I had to get out of there. I don't think I could've given him what he wanted and if I refused I'm positive he would've killed me. I did what I had to do. I didn't want to kiss him, but I had to. Nayako always says – I didn't want to – I didn't know what else to do – I –"

"You don't have to explain those actions to me. I'm not Naruto. I don't care who you kiss."

Hinata suddenly felt ashamed for telling and her face burned brightly. She started to wring the material of her kimono in her left hand and spoke in an even softer voice.

"How did you get the kanzashi?"

"I've been following you since you left Sand. I was always a day or two behind you. I was a day behind you when you were attacked on the edge of Sound. I could have made up ground but I had to move carefully as I was in Orochimaru's territory. By the time I tracked you to that underground hideout, you were gone and Sasuke was too. Don't worry. I don't think he's dead. He's been spending all this time with Orochimaru and a medical genius named Kabuto. I'd be surprised if he didn't learn to at least stop bleeding. Where did you stab him?"

"In the n-n-neck and r-r-r-right hand."

"That's very good that you stabbed him in his hand or else he could have made his hand seals and – Oh my! You thought that out? I'm very impressed." Hanabi said as her eyebrows shot up in surprise and a small smirk graced her face.

"That's nothing to be impressed about! I'm not a killer!" Hinata snapped at her, her jaw set tightly. Hanabi was surprised that Hinata had it in her to get angry. Of course her soft, cute voice took away most of the menace of anger.

"That's good. I didn't want you to kill Sasuke anyway. That's definitely not what I want from you." Hanabi said and looked Hinata square in the eyes. Surprisingly Hinata did not shy away from the gaze and Hanabi could tell that her sister was annoyed.

"What do you mean? What do you want from me? What's going on? Please, please tell me what's going on." Frustration was building up in her, buzzing in her mind, annoying her like a particularly irritating mosquito.

"I'm going to tell you the shortest version. You are the eldest daughter of the Hyuuga clan. When you were five years old you were kidnapped by a ninja from Kumo. Our father tracked down the ninja and killed him. However, there was a storm and the both of you fell into the river. You were separated from him. I could only assume that you hit your head or something and that's why you can't remember any of this. But you were training in the Gentle Fist style since you were two. I suppose somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you remember some bits of that. I saw you in the woods with Naruto when he tried to tickle you. You don't know it, but you've unconsciously maintained the basic lessons learnt. That's why you blocked all his moves."

Hinata stared at Hanabi, her eyes widening with recognition.

"Granted that was just Naruto and he wasn't expecting it. If you had to go up against someone like me, you'd lose. The only reason you were able to stab Sasuke was because you distracted him. I want you to do that again."

"I'm sorry? What?"

Hanabi opened her mouth to answer but instead turned sharply and threw a shuriken to the doorway. Nayako pulled back just in time to avoid being hit in the face with a five-pronged weapon. Hinata gasped. Hanabi's hand was already at her kunai pack, her Byakugan activated.

"Stop it!" Hinata shouted. Hanabi looked to her and with her dojutsu activated she could see Nayako enter through the doorway again. Nayako paused to pull the shuriken out of the stile of the doorway. She sauntered over and handed the shuriken to Hanabi, who took it silently; her Byakugan still activated.

"You have very good reflexes for someone in such an obviously bad shape." Hanabi said. Nayako said nothing and Hinata realized that Nayako recognized the girl. Her geisha sister was surreptitiously trying to control her breathing from the effort it took to dodge the shuriken. It was odd to see that Nayako was human after all. "Why did you kidnap my sister? And why haven't you let her know about her heritage?" Hanabi asked with all the subtleties of an anvil. She was blunt and direct almost to the point of being indecent. It was so strange for Hinata who had grown up in the geisha way of life, where she spent countless evenings entertaining men and skirting around the issue that the men wanted one thing and she was never going to give it to them. But Hinata was glad for Hanabi's bluntness. She couldn't wait to hear the answer to this.

"I wouldn't call it kidnapping since I never asked for a ransom. It isn't abduction either. I would call it a rescue effort. It took me a bit of effort to rescue Hinata-chan from the raging river." Nayako's coolness was bristling. Not that Hinata ever knew Nayako to be flustered in any way, but still, she...she didn't know what to expect. Certainly not this. She couldn't believe that Nayako was standing there casually saying that yes, she may have lied for years but she did it for a valiant purpose that deserved some sort of award. Hinata didn't know what to say or what to do. She felt sick and thought that she might either faint or vomit. Absently she wished that she would fall so sick that she would be knocked out and would be given a chance to be away from this whole mess.

"N-Nayako-san, everything is true? And you knew? You could have told me something. You could have – you lied to me. You – you lied to me."

"Hinata –"

"Please don't call my name. I always thought that you never lied to me, Nayako-san. But...you're a lie. _You_ are a lie" There was a pause and no one said anything for a while. "In the end it always comes down to someone else. It's either you or Sasuke-san or this person," Hinata continued. Hanabi realized that she had been relegated to 'this person' and was mildly annoyed. "I never have a say in anything."

Hinata moved past them and headed for the door, but was stopped by Nayako's voice.

"You never have a say in anything? What would you have said? You never use your voice anyway, my dear Hinata-chan. What are you going to use your voice to do now? Are you going to tell your precious Naruto-kun that you kissed his friend, stabbed him and then you kept it hidden from him? That you were entertaining Sasuke-san for months? I wonder what he'll say."

Hinata spun around, shock on her face. "You heard w-w-what I said?" Nayako nodded as her response. Hinata looked to Hanabi. "You told me that she was in her room."

"She was in her room at the time that I told you that. She moved."

"Why did you let her eavesdrop?" Hinata asked, not believing now for one second that Hanabi was surprised by Nayako's sudden presence.

"She would have found out eventually." Hanabi said, but she knew that she needed this Nayako woman. She needed Nayako to convince Hinata in order for her plan to work.

* * *

_A little while after Jiraiya left Nayako, Hanabi entered the experienced geisha's hospital room. Nayako was now standing at the window looking out. She didn't hear Hanabi enter, but she felt as if eyes were on her and she turned around. _

"_So, you're avoiding Hinata and she's avoiding Naruto. Jiraiya-sannin sure wound you up tightly." _

_Nayako was only mildly surprised. "Oh, it's you again. So, you've found us." Hanabi never quite knew what to make of Nayako's coolness. It was a bit odd to see it in people who weren't ninja. _

"_I could have found you earlier, but I had some things to attend to. I realized that you ran to Suna. Do you want to know what gave away your presence? The Kazakage sent scouts to Konoha to investigate the Hyuuga affair. I suppose that he too was suspicious of a geisha Hyuuga. Did you know that he's a good friend of Naruto?" Nayako's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Don't worry. The scouts are not a problem to worry about anymore."_

"_Have you come to take her away?" _

"_Not just yet. Did you know that Sasuke Uchiha is the one that took her? You know who he is. He was a client of Hinata's. Do you know why he took her?" _

"_No." _

"_I think something happened between them. I arrived too late, but something had already happened. I found these." _

_Hanabi pulled from the folds of her wrap-around tunic a white handkerchief. She unfolded it to reveal two hairpins, Hinata's kanzashi, that were stained black with old blood. Nayako's heart rate sped up and her eyes narrowed darkly, but she said nothing. _

"_I think that their encounter got violent. Luckily, I don't think this is Hinata's blood. Now, I don't know Sasuke as well as say, Naruto, but I know enough to tell you that he won't be taking this lightly. He will be coming for Hinata." _

"_So what, you've come to take her back into the safe arms of the Hyuuga household?" _

"_Not just yet. I heard the conversation you had with Jiraiya and he's right. My father will kill you when he finds out about you did. But I can maybe beg and plead for you if you help me out."_

"_What are you offering exactly and what is it that you want me to do?" _

"_I want to bring in Sasuke Uchiha. I want to bring him in alive." _

"_Why don't you track him down and bring him in yourself? Do you doubt your abilities, young Hyuuga?" _

"_Of course not." Hanabi answered too quickly and Nayako smiled a bit at that. Hanabi frowned. "Why should I bother to chase him down, when he'll come right to Hinata? I'd have to fight with Orochimaru to get to Sasuke if I hunted him down. That's not something I want." _

"_Oh you want to use Hinata as a distraction so that you could take him down?" _

"_Almost. I wasn't expecting him to take her. Originally I wanted her to be the surprise attack, but it seems that she already did that and now he'll be on his guard with her. But I suppose I could use her as a double bluff."_

"_What? You want to train Hinata in ninjutsu? Ha! Good luck with that! You want to train her to take down an Uchiha? Oh my goodness, that's hilarious! She's a geisha, not a ninja!" _

"_I will only teach her certain techniques." _

"_And what about her eyes?" _

"_I've figured a way to remove the seal." Nayako's eyebrow quirked in the air sceptically, but Hanabi ignored her. "I need you to convince her to trust me. You are the most influential person in her life." _

"_Actually, I think after she learns the truth my standing with her will fall. Maybe you should talk to Naruto." _

"_No, Naruto will ship her off to Konoha in an instant because it'll be the right thing to do. But you, I think you've proven yourself renowned or notorious, depending on your opinion, for being beguiling." _

"_So, what do I get in return?" _

"_I'll beg Father to spare your life since you'd be instrumental in bringing in one of the most dangerous rogue nin and the only surviving heir of the Uchiha clan. That should count for something." _

"_And if I refuse right now?" _

"_Well, everything would be for nought. I would take Hinata back to Konoha, tell Father exactly what happened and he will hunt you down and kill you. I don't know about you, but that's not the option that I'd take." _

"_You haven't left me with much of a choice." _

"_So, you'll help me convince Hinata?" _

"_What about Naruto?"_

"_What about him?" _

"_He must be left in the dark. This...this will be good. When she finds out that she hid all of this from him, I doubt that he'd be very forgiving and she would be rid of that brat." _

"_Why should that matter? She'll be in Konoha and she won't be a geisha anymore, so his relationship with her won't affect her reputation as a geisha. Why does his relationship with her mean so much to you? Why do you hate him so much?" _

"_I have my reasons."_

_Hanabi recognized a dismissal of the subject and pursued it no further."So, it's a deal?" _

"_Deal." _

_Hanabi knew that she had to be cautious with Nayako. Nayako may not have any skill as a ninja and if it came down to a physical battle Hanabi would win ten times over. But this geiko was accomplished at spying and deception. She didn't trust Nayako completely. She knew that Nayako most likely was already hatching some plan to keep Hinata to herself and away from the Hyuugas._

* * *

"I know that I don't mean as much to you as your Naruto," Nayako said to Hinata.

"That's not true." Hinata replied in a small voice.

"And I know that you'd be devastated if you were to lose him over such a simple misunderstanding. I don't know much about love, but I know that you're in love with him. Do you want to lose him? I know men, Hinata-chan, and your Naruto-kun _will_ be angry that you've kept this from him."

"I...do you think that I should tell him?"

"Of course, child." Nayako smiled and Hinata did a double take. Nayako had a lot of smiles and Hinata knew this one well. It was a wolfish sort of smile. It was the smile she used right before she said or did something incredibly mean. The maids of the okiya saw this smile a lot and learnt to expect a severe tongue-lashing or some other form of cruel punishment. To the layman, this smile looked like a reassuring and confident grin, but Hinata knew it as Nayako's scheming grin. She might as well have been a smiling wolf at this point.

"I...I don't think that's a good idea..." Hinata said weakly, looking Nayako in the eye, gauging her reaction. Hanabi wanted to slap Hinata up the side of the head. She could hardly believe that her sister was this naive and diffident girl. Doubt crept up in her like an ant walking along her spine, but she discarded the niggling thought and sensation. She needed Hinata. She had to give it to Nayako, though. The woman was a master of mind games. Hanabi recognized what Nayako was doing and quickly jumped in to take up her cue.

"You're right. I too think that it's not a good idea. Naruto's not going to take well to this betrayal. Here he's found someone that he could finally trust with his all and who loves him unequivocally and she's been keeping secrets from him. He'd be devastated."

Hinata's lips trembled as her stomach clenched in knots.

"But...I think that I have a way for you to be forgiven instantly. . . You can bring in Sasuke."

"What? How? I –"

"He'll come back to you. But this time you'll be ready for him."

"I can barely see."

"I'll take care of that."

"I should tell Naruto."

"That sounds like a great idea." Nayako said at the same moment that Hanabi said, "You can't tell him."

"Why not? He'd be happy to hear about this plan." Hinata said, looking from Nayako to Hanabi.

"Don't you think he'd want to know why Sasuke was after you in the first place? What are you going to tell him then?" Hanabi said.

"I. . . "

"I think that you should tell him, Hinata-chan." Nayako said firmly. Before today, she would have trusted Nayako's words. But now...now she didn't know who to trust or believe in. Vaguely she remembered a quote from somewhere that said trust was like a staff made of a broken reed, whereon if a man were to lean it would go into his hand and pierce it. She felt as if Nayako was now this broken reed and Hinata was hurting for she had been pierced. She didn't know anything. A feeling of confusion and loss clouded her as if she were trapped in a sand storm in Suna. She was so confused about what to do that she was willing to let someone else tell her what to do and she'd do it too. All she knew was that she couldn't lose Naruto. She had a tremendous moment of marching over to Naruto's room, waking him up and telling him everything, siding with Nayako on this one. But there was already too much to explain: she had been talking to Sasuke-san for months, he was the one that killed the ninja at the Ichimokari teahouse, but she never told Naruto that. If her concealments had not stretched so far back, she would have told him everything. As it was, to the outside person, it looked almost as if she and Sasuke-san had something to hide, some inappropriate relationship between them and after what happened when he took her... That thought convinced her. She would do whatever her 'new' sister wanted, if it meant that she would get to keep her Naruto. She would do anything to keep him, anything.

"What do you want me to do, Hanabi-chan?"

"Nothing at the moment. Rest up a bit and we'll talk a bit more in the morning. Don't tell anyone of my presence, okay?"

Hinata nodded. Hanabi moved towards the bed and took up the kanzashi, but made sure to let Hinata see it one last time as a reminder of what she did. Hinata climbed into bed trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing.

"Goodnight, Hinata-chan." Nayako said, but Hinata only gave her a stiff nod as her response. They left Hinata turning her back to them.

"You're more dangerous than I thought. You're a very, very cunning geisha. You've turned yourself into the villain for this, but I know that you have some plan to keep Hinata away from the Hyuugas and keep Hinata away from Naruto." Hanabi said as she walked Nayako back to her hospital room.

Nayako laughed and tilted her head to the side a bit; a move that she gave many a client. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have only Hinata's best interests at heart." It was so innocent that Hanabi wanted to believe her, but she knew that this one could not be trusted.

Annoyed, Hanabi disappeared from Nayako's sight in a whirl of wind and leaves. She could have been seen later on the rooftop of the hospital looking out at the night sky. She was confident but she couldn't quite shake that feeling of doubt that crept around her. Hinata was naive and lacking in confidence, but Hanabi saw that her sister had a spark in her and had the ability to be dangerous. Look at how she had thought out that she needed to stab Sasuke in his hand to prevent him from making hand seals. Hinata was smart, but so unsure of herself that she would take psychological bait easily. She was so madly in love with Naruto that she could barely think straight and Hanabi realized that that was the card she'd need to play if she wanted this plan to work. She needed this plan to work. Too many people underestimated her and especially after she lost to Neji, too many people saw her as all talk, just arrogance, especially the Hyuuga elders. Well, she was arrogant for a reason! She was going to be a force to be reckoned with. She would be the best. She would be recognized. She just hoped that she was doing the right thing and that she didn't end up getting herself and her sister killed.

* * *

**A/N**: Review please! BTW, does anyone have any ideas as to why Nayako hates Naruto so much?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N**: _Hinata has been at the mercy of other people's plans all her life in this fic and she's only now starting to take things into her own hands as she gains confidence and inspiration from Naruto, Hanabi and Nayako – the most significant influences in her life. But she's still naive and unsure and she will take a while before she fully comes into herself, much like her character in the manga._

**Edited: 2013 January 19**

If Hinata was being honest she would have admitted that she was not handling very well the revelation that everything she thought she knew she apparently didn't really know. If she was really being introspective she would have known that she was using Hanabi and the situation with Sasuke as an escape from accepting what little sense of control she had in her life that was slipping away from her like watery mud in her hands. She remembered the times when she was a maid at the okiya spending hours grating coconut, her arms aching or when she climbed the flight of stairs to the storage room to fetch the heavy kimonos and she slipped and fell, something that happened so often that it surprises her up to this day that she was still able to walk after so many falls. She remembered the times she spent practising the shamisen and having to soak her hands in ice to numb them so that her playing could be more even. She had to do the same for her feet when she was studying dancing. During all those times Hinata had fantasized that she was really adopted and that at any moment now her real family would find her and whisk her away to lead the princess life that she was always destined to. "One day, Nayako-san," Hinata had said to her sister when Nayako was in a relatively jovial mood, "one day you'll be surprised when my rich family comes to take me back from this horrid place."

She also clearly remembers Nayako's response to that particular fantasy.

"You think that I stole you? What do I look like? Rumpelstiltskin? Of all the babies that I would steal I would steal you? Trust me when I say that no one is coming to look for you. You think that you have it bad? Think about _I_ must feel that I'm stuck with you. You know, speaking of Rumpelstiltskin I never quite understood why he wanted a baby when he could turn straw into gold."

"Who would love him enough to want a family with him? He'd have better luck with the straw. " Hinata offered up with a pointed look and was grateful that her sister was in a good mood and only laughed.

"Maybe that's what happened to you. Maybe your real family found a baby that could actually do something with that straw. See, and you think that you got the short end of the stick. I'm the one that chose the child that couldn't do anything with the straw. I should've done like the proverb and just gone for gold."

Hinata's eyebrows had frowned in amused annoyance. "You'll run out of clichés soon, Nayako-san if you don't pace yourself and stay the course."

But that was then and they were only joking, bantering over something that was a silly and fantastical joke. Never for a moment did she think that such a fantasy could ever become a reality. But now that it was did she really want to leave this life that she knew to go live with strangers, who, judging from Hanabi alone, did not give off the appearance of a loving and warm family? She spent years as a maid where she also fantasized about becoming a geisha as that was the only option she thought was viable for her. Geisha led glamorous lives filled with beauty, culture and colour. She lived in a ninja village and she would be lying if she said that she didn't daydream of being a ninja at some point in time. Everyone wished that they could be stronger, faster, better. Everyone wished that they could live like princesses. Not everyone, however, had the opportunity to be both and now that she had it Hinata didn't know if she wanted it.

She awoke early the next morning as her mind kept jumping from one thing to the next. It was sometime around four in the morning. When she opened her eyes she saw the blurry form of Hanabi standing at the foot of her hospital bed and she wondered just how long she had been standing there. She sat up and squinted to see Hanabi with a roll of bandages in her hands.

"Good morning. You've hardly slept at all. Are you worried?"

"I'm..." Hinata didn't know how to put into words how she felt at the moment, but she had a feeling that Hanabi didn't really care to know that much. Her question was simply a polite, but empty gesture. She proved it when she didn't ask Hinata to finish her sentence. Instead, she came around to the side of the bed and told Hinata to face her. Hinata swung her legs over the side and Hanabi pressed a lever at the side of the bed so that it sunk lower. Hinata was now looking Hanabi directly in her face.

"I'm going to remove the seal that was placed around your eyes. When you were kidnapped by Kumo, Father placed this seal on you in an effort to protect your eyes. There is another seal he could have used, the Caged Bird Seal, but you are a Main House member and only Branch members can have that seal placed on them. In addition, that seal can only be removed upon death. The side effect of this seal is that you eventually go blind and lose the Byakugan forever. How have you been faring with this seal on your eyes?"

"Well, I've had a constant headache since ever. It only varies in the degrees of pain. It either hurts more or less, but it never goes away. Recently, I've lost my peripheral vision and now only see in tunnelled blurs. Colours are starting to fade slightly too."

"Are you in pain?"

"No. I had some pain some months ago during an incident at the Ichimokari teahouse when for a brief moment I could have sworn that I could see. But it was a different and strange sight."

Hanabi's interest peaked. "Oh, so that's what happened."

"You know about that incident?"

"My team and I were at the centre of that incident. I saw you then."

Hinata's eyes widened as she remembered what Naruto told that night so many months ago.

"You! You were the one that covered for me! I found it so strange that nothing came out of that. No one investigated. . .But Nayako knew of your presence, didn't she!" Hinata exclaimed as missing pieces soon made their presence clear. "That's why she ran to Suna. She was running from you, wasn't she?"

"Yes." Hanabi said with a small smile. For whatever reason she was feeling something that almost could be called pride that her sister was putting things together so quickly.

"Why didn't you come forward earlier?"

"I didn't know how to break the seal and I had to think things through."

"In other words, you had already thought of how you would use me to help you capture Sasuke-san; you just needed to hammer out the details." Hinata said. She was soft-spoken and very formal, yet it held an undercurrent of hardness and distance to it. Hanabi noticed it and decided that her best option would be to lie.

"No. I didn't know what to make of the situation. I grew up thinking that you were dead. Also, you have a life here that I had to consider. Plus, you left as soon as I found out about you."

"Does," Hinata had trouble uttering her next word and had to find a way around making it seem personal, "does, your father know that I'm alive?"

Hanabi noticed Hinata's specific choice of words. She understood that no doubt Hinata must be feeling very awkward and quite possibly the only reason that she was able to talk to her was due to the fact that she had yet to accept that Hanabi was her sister. Hinata was simply speaking to Hanabi as she would a young girl, not her younger sister. She was in a bit of denial, so obviously the words 'my Father' was not going to come out of her mouth any time soon. Hanabi could understand since she too only referred to her Father in a very dictionary sense of the word. She may have grown up with him, but like Hinata, Hiashi was a stranger to her. Still and again, she decided to lie.

"Yes, he knows. He's willing to concede to any effort to bring back Konoha's other great and powerful dōjutsu."

"Why didn't he come to break the seal?"

"He won't be coming to Kumo any time soon due to the incidents of the past."

Hinata nodded unsure what to make of that man and the rest of the Hyuugas. So far, they were making Nayako look downright affectionate. Her mind was in turmoil. She was about to tell Hanabi don't bother when an image of Naruto came to mind. But it was not the Naruto that she knew, but an angry one turning his back on her. That image of Dark Naruto plagued her dreams ever since the incident with Sasuke. Hanabi's voice brought her back from her tiring musings.

"In order to break the seal I have to use 167 hand seals in the correct order and I must pour in the right amount of chakra at the right times. It's this difficult because I'm breaking a seal that was intended to be broken only by our father."

"Will it be painful?"

"I hope not."

"Painful for me, that is." Hinata clarified and Hanabi actually smiled, something that Hinata had to admit did her wonders. "I also hope not." She had a nice smile so maybe she wasn't so bad underneath it all, Hinata reassured herself. "I know what I'm doing. I'm known for accuracy and control, so you shouldn't worry. With my Byakugan I will be able to see exactly where to feed chakra into the barriers that are around your eyes. I'm going to wrap your eyes with these bandages since they'll be a bit sensitive." You can take them off gradually within the hour to get your eyes adjusted. Are you ready?"

Hinata paused looking Hanabi directly in her eyes and seeing only a blurry and foggy outline of a pale face and even paler eyes. Hanabi was shifting in front of her. She was ready to see clearly. She nodded firmly and closed her eyes, completely and utterly vulnerable. Hanabi bit her thumb until blood flowed and rubbed a bit of it on Hinata's eyelids. She then took the bandages and began to wound them around her sister's eyes, remarking silently that her sister quite possibly had the most beautiful eyes any Hyuuga had ever possessed. It was a strange thought for her because she never once considered the beauty in Hyuuga eyes. She noticed that Neji's eyes had blue in them and her father had light blues that were so bright they appeared white while hers were a mixture of white and cigarette smoke grey. But Hinata's had lavender swirls in them that shifted in the light, hiding and pouncing to the foreground at the heights of her emotions. Father was right to place the seal on his first daughter's eyes, Hanabi thought, as it would be a shame to lose such captivating eyes. Hanabi concluded that she was doing the right thing afterall.

This was going to be difficult, but she believed that she could do it. The seals had to be made at the right speed, plus she had to intermittently feed Hinata's eyes with the exact dose of chakra in the precise places. Starting with the seal for snake, Hanabi begun.

Hanabi was wrong. Hinata's eyes did hurt. Every time her sister paused in her seal-making to feed chakra into the eyes, Hinata felt as if someone was squeezing down on her eyes. She gripped the bed sheets in pain and tried her best not to cry out. Her entire face hurt, waves of pain radiating from her eyes, encircling her head and driving down her spine. She wanted to scream but it was lodged in the back of her throat, her hitched breath trapping it there. Nausea rose up and made her lurch forward as her skin stretched tight across her face; the veins in her neck and at the sides of her temples pushing up fiercely against her skin. She honestly did not think that she would have survived. Just when she felt like maybe she should give up and succumb to the pain, stop trying to fight it, she fell back hard against the bed, not even realizing that she was pulled forward by the sheer force of Hanabi's chakra.

Silence was all that followed whereas Hinata could not breathe, think or feel for a moment, yet feeling relief rising off of her like steam. She so completely felt nothing that when she heard an uncomfortable cough she jumped, forgetting that another person was in the room.

"Hanabi-chan?" She whispered, afraid to use her voice. Her eyes had a faint throbbing to them, yet she felt as if it was affecting her entire being.

Another hacking cough followed. "Hanabi-chan, are you alright?"

No answer. Hinata gingerly sat up and slowly raised her hand to remove the bandages.

"Don't!" Hinata jumped at Hanabi's harsh tone. "Peel off the layers gradually after an hour has passed."

"Oh, o-o-of course. I hope this works. My eyes have a throbbing behind them and – Hanabi-chan?" Hinata felt the silence in the room. She could not see anything and for once actually wished she was back to her old, blurry, pathetic apology for sight instead of the absolute darkness that the bandages offered. She wondered if Hanabi was alright, but more so she wondered if she was alright. She eased herself back up onto the bed properly and reviewed the decisions that she had made recently out of pure desperation. Desperation to survive, desperation to keep Naruto and desperation to keep her sight. She had no desperation driving her for family, yet she could not help but wonder whether Hanabi-chan was alright. She had intended to calmly wait out the hour by spending the time reciting one of the longest poems that she knew – _Only as Life_. She had reached the fourth stanza when an overwhelming fatigue took her. She woke up stunned, confused and panicked that she was awake and still in darkness. The only thing that calmed her was a familiar voice,

"Hina? You alright? What's the matter with your eyes?"

"N-N-Naruto?"

"Yeah, it's me? Why do you have the bandages over your eyes? Did you..." He was afraid to finish his question as if completion gave it realization. He looked at Hinata with her indigo hair falling around her, the bandages around her eyes, her ample chest, the weak dawn light casting through the window and that thick muscle at his groin stirred surprisingly with lust. She stretched out her hand to him and he was there in an instant.

"I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?"

"A little after half five in the morning. What's going on?"

"I'm supposed to gradually peel off the bandages after an hour has passed. Do you want to help me?"

"Sure." He felt behind her head and realized that the bandages were tied the same way that the bandages around his right leg that held his kunai pack in place were tied – in layers, not in one, smooth fluid wrap like the healers in Konoha usually did for a patient. He undid the small metal clasp that held in place the first layer. "So, are the doctors trying to fix your sight?"

"I'm hoping that this procedure works to correct my vision." She answered, sidestepping his question a bit.

"Hmm. That's great! What did they say was wrong with it?" He asked as he gently removed another layer of cloth.

"They think a seal was placed on my eyes."

"What! Are you serious? Why would anyone place a seal around your eyes?"

"I wondered the same thing." She sidestepped him again. He removed another layer.

"Hmm. Well you know that I have a seal placed on me. You think it's maybe because you have a demon inside of you too? I mean, Kyuubi gets lonely. I think he'd like a little demon girlfriend." Hinata giggled. "You don't even want to hear what he's telling me right now. I won't repeat it because apparently the Kyuubi doesn't know that he shouldn't use such language in front of a lady." Hinata outrightly laughed at this as she tried to imagine exactly what the tailed-fox could be telling Naruto. He removed another layer. "But despite the cursing, I think he wouldn't mind a little demon girlfriend." _That's not what I said, you brat. I'm going to kill you!_ "He's making weak threats to kill me. It's so cute how worked up he's getting just thinking about this demon chick." Naruto chuckled at the Kyuubi's threats to twist his intestines into a balloon animal and Hinata giggled that Naruto was brave enough to tease the demon that resided within him. He removed another layer.

"Are you in pain?"

"No. I'm starting to feel the light a bit through the layers. May you please close the blinds over the window? The light is a bit harsh. I can feel it pressing through my lids."

He did as told and the room was pitched into darkness, light from under the door being the main source of illumination. He walked back to her, flicking on the lamp at the side allowing her to get used to the soft, artificial light. They waited for about a minute and a half before he undid the second to last layer. "Are you ready for the last layer to be removed?" She nodded. He removed the last strip of cloth but her eyes were still firmly shut closed. "What's the matter? Are you scared?"

"Yes. What if it doesn't work?"

"It will work." He said it so final that she did not dare attempt to contradict him. "Open your eyes."

She found herself looking at something blue. No, azure would be the best description because it was not an ordinary run of the mill blue. Rather it was a bright blue, like the sky on a clear day... or so she had been told that that's what the sky looked like on a clear day.

"Your eyes..." She said in wonderment.

"My eyes?" Naruto asked in confusion. "What about my eyes? Forget about my eyes. What's going on with your eyes? Can you see properly?"

"Your eyes...they're really blue. They're a clear, bright blue. They're really b-beautiful, Naruto."

Naruto blushed all kinds of red and smiled dorkily.

"You think my eyes are pretty? You should see your own up close. Come on; let's go over to the mirror so you can see yourself properly."

He helped her off the bed and Hinata felt like a baby just coming into the world. Everything amazed her. Her hair fell in sweeps past her as she rose from the bed and for the first time she noticed the indigo highlights in her hair. From a distance in a blurry mirror her hair looked jet black, but actually from her roots to her ends were indigo tints. She was amazed by the brightness of Naruto's orange jumpsuit, the bright yellow of his blond hair, the clinical whiteness of her cotton kimono, the paleness of her hands. When they finally reached the bathroom, Naruto stood behind her in the mirror and held her hair away from her face.

"You still think my eyes are beautiful? Check out your own."

She did as told and peered closer at her eyes and for the first time was able to see what all the hullabaloo was about. On the surface they gave off the impression of liquid smoke and she felt a little despaired when she saw her pale face framed by such dark hair and pupil-less eyes. But when she smiled she could see swirls of a languid lavender, light mauve and úbe. Her eyes truly were precious. And that was just on looks alone. If Hanabi-chan was right and Hinata had a powerful dōjutsu hiding underneath those captivating orbs, then she could understand why her eyes were sealed in the first place.

For the first time she clearly saw herself standing at Naruto's side. They looked like a perfect, happy and contented couple and she wished that she could have had this moment freeze-framed in her mind forever. She looked him over in the mirror, absorbing all of his features, storing them safely in her memory.

"Naruto, I can see!" She said dizzy with glee. Her ecstasy was infectious and he too was grinning like an idiot, nothing new for him.

"Yeah you can. That's so great! Now you can see why I can't take my eyes off of you." She blushed as she usually did with him, but still managed to look him in his eyes because she never wanted to lose this moment, so she grinned broadly and he grinned even more. It was quite possibly the happiest moment in her life.

For the next two weeks Hinata had not seen Hanabi even once. The only indication of her presence was that she kept leaving Hinata human anatomy books to study (not that she minded because she could read on her own now!). She studied at nights as she recently developed a bout of insomnia. She would fall asleep for a couple of hours before dawn, but would be up as soon as the dewy light from the windows hit her eyes. She decided to spend the mornings running/jogging/walking briskly with Naruto (so sweet of him to scale back on his running just to be with her) because of 1) she didn't really have anything better to do, 2) she could actually run two steps and not have to worry about running head on into a rock or plate glass door and finally 3) she knew that spending time so freely with Naruto was limited. As soon as she got back to Kumo her role as geisha would begin again and Naruto would not be able to see her as casually as he was now. Nayako hadn't said anything now about their relationship and Hinata was a bit surprised about it, but then she realized that Nayako was simply waiting out the moments when they would return to Kumo, where things would go back to 'normal' or as normal as it could ever get now that Hinata knew the truth.

They left the sleepy village near the land of Hot Waterfor Kumo a week later as her shoulder had fully healed. She still had not heard from Hanabi and quite frankly Hinata was kind of glad. She liked pretending that nothing had ever happened and that she had never met any new and strange kunoichi from another ninja village. They hired a kago and this time Jiraiya and Naruto escorted them back to Kumo. A deep and delayed sense of sadness came over Hinata as she realized that their entire previous entourage was now dead. As far as Hinata was concerned, everything could have been traced back to some wrongdoing on the part of Nayako and a heavy, bitter hatred settled within her.

"Hinata," Nayako called from her seat next to Hinata in the kago.

"Please don't call my name."

"Why? I don't deserve to have your name on my tongue?"

"No, you don't."

Silence settled between them for a while. Hinata saw Naruto sprint ahead past the kago and she smiled knowing that this pace was too slow for him, but he'd do it anyway, for her.

"How much do you weigh?" Nayako suddenly asked and Hinata looked at her with confusion for a moment, but then decided not to bother. She turned her head away and instead focussed on the passing scenery, but Nayako continued anyway. "I'd say you weigh about 110 to 115 pounds or am I being too generous? Nevermind the details, but I'd say that's a pretty healthy weight especially when compared to the weight of someone lying dead at the bottom of a river. Your skin is quite smooth too, isn't it? That's very good. You are so lucky to have someone else take your punishments when you mess up. My calves have all sorts of scars from when Auntie beat me with a grater for mistakes I never made, but I took them so that _someone_ would get no punishment. How very fortunate for you, Hinata-chan. It's so nice to sit so comfortably for a bit in these simple kimonos. When you're a geisha the weight of our clothes and the obi is so cumbersome that it prevents us from sitting comfortably. But I suppose someone like you would never consider such a thing. I mean, it's so easy to sit comfortably if your maru obi is tied at the front, like those prostitutes. You are so lucky that that's not you, Hinata-chan. Imagine that there is a maiko who makes mistakes constantly, she is shy and she doesn't make an effort to be the best maiko she could be and Auntie of the okiya gets so frustrated that she wants to sell her off to a brothel. That maiko is so lucky that she has an older sister to beg for her and promise that she'd make triple the amount she usually makes if it means that her maiko won't be sold to a brothel."

Guilt and ingratitude rose up in Hinata to sour her mouth, but still she said nothing. Nayako lost her patience and grabbed Hinata's face in her hand, her nails pressing sharply into Hinata's face.

"You have the nerve to say that I don't care. How dare you! You have such pretty eyes, Hinata-chan. Think about how they could have been crawling with maggots if not for me. You think about that!" She hissed and pushed Hinata's face away from her so harshly that her nails left faint impressions on the delicate skin. They did not scratch her and again Hinata wondered if even that too was precisely controlled. Nayako. Always thinking ahead. Yet, always thinking about her? Or about herself? Hinata still was unclear.

They arrived in Kumo a week later and Hinata felt a sudden burst of joy to be seeing the place she knew as home with eyes that felt brand new. The smoky blue mist of the mountains, the people at corners, under lights, chattering, eating, the Raikage's tower looming high over the city. It was a feast to be seen. She felt as if she were born again yesterday.

She spent the next few days catching everyone in the okiya up on certain details of what happened. She read her letters from Naruto that he had sent her while she was in Suna, with each one taking on a frantic and more desperate and irrational tone than the last. He tried his best to give a valid excuse for his near pathetic and creepy tone in the letters. He didn't have one and believe him he tried to think of one! She also had a letter from Gaara which was very Gaara-like:

Dear Hinata-chan,

Are you well?

Gaara.

Hinata had laughed out loud that he bothered to waste a whole page to write that, but she was simultaneously touched. She told him what happened, but of course left out certain key details like the fact that she was kidnapped by Sasuke and that she really is a Hyuuga. The time for that was not now.

Naruto was back to sneaking into her room at night where they whispered in the dark for hours, though he had to be extra careful because Nayako grew very suspicious. She got so suspicious that Nayako decided to move Hinata into her room and all midnight dalliances officially stopped. Hinata realized that she would simply have to see Naruto at the teahouses when she entertained. Naruto had good-naturedly laughed that he was now back to _paying_ to see his girlfriend because he understood that a geisha's reputation was more valuable than any expensive kimono that she could ever wear.

Too soon she was about to make her re-debut into the world of entertaining after being away from it for so long. She sat at her dressing table with Nayako, who was fully dressed in a stunning coral pink kimono and teal blue obi and was sitting on a tatami mat a bit away from her. There was a knock on the door and a young maid entered. She had mousy brown hair, a round face and dull brown eyes, a wide mouth and small nose. She had brought with her Hinata's kimono having fetched it from the storage room. She walked across the room and placed the kimono on a stand next to the full length mirror.

"Ah, Hanabi-chan, I see that you've successfully infiltrated Kumo and our okiya. I thought that we had lost you back in the Land of Hot Water." Nayako said and made no attempts to look remorseful or relieved.

"You knew it was me all along, Nayako-san?" Hanabi said and released the henge after she placed on Hinata's dressing table a silk handkerchief.

"Of course. I noticed your gait."

"Very smart. A lot of the times when I use my Byakugan in a crowd I don't even look at chakra signatures, but I look for a person's walk. It's like their fingerprint, though of course not as reliable."

Hinata was amazed, but now that she thought about it, Hanabi had a point. Everyone had a specific walk. Even with blurry sight she could still recognize a particular maid or client because of their gait. However, this trick didn't work with geisha who must walk in a trained, with their toes facing inward so that their kimonos flutter in a particular way.

"What happened to you?" Hinata asked noting that Hanabi was definitely thinner, her face more drawn.

"Have you been studying the books that I left for you?" Hanabi answered another, unasked question instead.

"Yes."

Hinata soon realized that she wasn't about to get any answers to the questions that she intended to ask Hanabi and an uneasy silence fell between the two girls. Nayako noticed Hinata's discomfort and broke in with,

"Are you ready to start getting dressed, Hinata-chan? It's been so long since you've done this routine. You should let Hanabi-chan help you." Hinata only nodded as Hanabi unrolled the silk handkerchief to reveal kanzashi pins made of gold and coral. Hanabi could see Hinata's hand pause over them, trembling as no doubt images of Sasuke flooded her mind. Her big sister was so delicate. Hanabi had grown up always knowing that one day she would have to hurt, injure and possibly kill somebody. She too had been injured severely in battles before and as such blood and violence never rattled her. But for Hinata, Hanabi was sure her sister was seeing blackened blood on the pins as her hands hovered above them, trembling. Sensing her sister's crippled attitude she wanted to pick up the pins and put them in Hinata's hair for her, but she knew that it was taboo to touch someone else's hair pins. Instead she placed her hand over her sister's to still her. Hinata looked up.

"He's not here, you know. And even if he was I doubt that you should have anything to worry about. I am here."

A small tug on her lips indicated that Hinata had smiled, for she was confused that Hanabi seemed to care, but she was reluctant to show her confusion. She had already entered her mind frame for entertaining tonight; her emotions were already being locked safely away. With a determined effort Hinata took up a golden pin with flowers and red tassels hanging off of it. Still, her hand trembled and for a moment Nayako and Hanabi wondered if irony would kill her as she nearly stabbed herself in the head with own hair decoration. When she was finished Hanabi gave her something resembling a smile, not realizing that she was tense, fearing that Hinata would chicken out at the last minute or stab herself accidentally. Nayako cleared her throat and looked at Hanabi pointedly. After a moment she went to the drawers and pulled out the make-up brushes and makeup. She was not accustomed to maid work.

"Hinata-chan, would you still like me to put on your make-up for you?" Nayako cooed. Hinata turned to face her, considering the offer. She now could see to put her make-up on herself, but she had such ambivalent feelings toward her geisha sister that she couldn't quite refuse her. Her feelings of ungratefulness still swirled grey and heavy in her heart, influencing her answer. "Yes, please."

Nayako said nothing but Hinata and Hanabi knew that she was happy. Hanabi was getting used to reading Nayako's idea of facial emotions; after all she had experience with Hiashi who tried his best to liken his face to concrete. Hanabi watched as Nayako based Hinata's face with some sort of expensive moisturizer that was more costly than caviar, but less than gold and cocaine. She followed that by rubbing some sort of wax-like substance on Hinata's face, neck and chest. After, she dipped one of the brushes in chalk white makeup and applied it to Hinata;s face and neck, but not her eyes, edge of her hairline and mouth. Hinata looked like she had put on goggles and then someone pushed her face first into a cream pie. She turned around and Nayako began to paint three long strips at the back of her neck with the effect being that her bare skin naughtily teased behind the strips of the paint. Her eyebrows were slightly darkened next, light orange-red eyeshadow added to the corner of her eyes, then lined with heavy, black kajol. Slight rouge was dusted on and her lips painted a vibrant red to complete her facial mask.

"Thank you, Nayako-san." Hinata said and moved behind the screen to put on her underrobe. Nayako threw Hanabi another pointed look and Hanabi returned a confused knot of quizzical eyebrows. "Ugh! Must I tell you to do everything? If you're going to pretend to be a maid, you might try to impart some realness into it. Oh wait, you've never been a maid, now have you? All of the geisha here started off as maids, including Hinata-chan. I suppose it gives us a sense of being down to earth. You have maids in your family, don't you? You're the heir to the Hyuuga clan. Well, you were sole heir. I suppose when you bring back Hinata-chan to Konoha you'll lose that position and any perks that come with it. Like your uncle, what's his name again? Hizashi or something like that? You won't have any maids anymore. But right now you live the privileged life back home. You wouldn't know about being down to earth, now would you?"

"I suppose not, except for when I'm actually down in the earth, getting dirty and sweaty when I train. But otherwise, I'm aloof in my own little princess world." Hanabi responded with scathing sarcasm.

"Hmm, watch it Hanabi-chan, you almost sound jealous." Hanabi's lips tightened a bit, but Nayako noticed it. "Do you think Hinata-chan has it easy? She has to entertain men all night. Do you have any idea of how tiring that is? Oh never mind, of course you wouldn't know about men hungering after you, can't get enough of you, all they want is you. You wouldn't know what it's like to have people actually like you and want to be around you, do you?" Nayako smiled broadly as she could see that that last line resonated particularly with Hanabi. "But of course, you have more important things to focus on and such silly things don't bother you. Our Hinata-chan has such a very difficult life."

"I can empathise. I suppose it is difficult having to listen to you every day." Nayako huffed a laugh as a response.

"Just get the door." Hanabi re-did her henge and did as told. In stepped a thin, middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair, sharply dressed in tailored black pants with matching kosode. He was the new dresser. Hinata re-emerged behind the screen and every minute that passed Hanabi noticed that Hinata's face got more and more impassive, her aura was one where she was sinking into herself. Was this a persona for entertaining? Did she truly not like being a maiko? Was she simply shy? How would this affect her 'training' in the Gentle Fist and her inevitable interaction with Sasuke? But she was having trouble concentrating on all of those things. Nayako had gotten under her skin. She was unsure of the woman's comments earlier. She was not jealous of Hinata-chan. There was nothing to be jealous of. She didn't care if people preferred Hinata's company to her own. And what was Nayako trying to instigate by saying that Hinata would take her position as heir to the Hyuuga clan? Hinata may be the long-lost sister back from the dead, but she could never be an heir. She simply would not be appropriate for the role. And besides, Hanabi was sure someone like Hinata had no designs on the position. Hanabi wasn't sure Hinata had any designs on anything other than Naruto. Her sister was simple in everything including her aspirations. To be honest, Hanabi was not sure what would be the best role for someone like Hinata. She was not destined for greatness as far as Hanabi was concerned.

By the time Hanabi came out of her musings, Hinata was dressed and ready to leave. Nayako looked at Hanabi again. This time the look was to fetch Hinata's okobo. Hanabi silently smiled. People called her arrogant. She bet they never would have thought that she'd be fetching anyone's slippers. Nayako smiled at her and got up to whisper in Hanabi's ears,

"Get used to it, Hanabi-chan. When you go back to Konoha with Hinata-chan, you'll still be fetching her slippers when she's heir to the Hyuuga clan and you're demoted to second sister of the Branch family." Nayako pulled back and for all appearances it looked as if she had just told Hanabi sweet nothings. Hanabi said nothing, anger boiling up inside her. She tried to calm her breathing but the opposite happened and she had to excuse herself when she began to cough violently. Between her coughs she managed to sputter out,

"Hinata," cough, cough, cough, "I'll see you tomorrow morning," cough, cough, "at six to start training." Cough, cough, cough. She hurried out the room before she left a lung on the floor.

"Is Hanabi-chan alright?" Hinata asked.

"We'll see." Nayako cryptically answered. "Come on; let's get going."

The Ichimokari teahouse had been rebuilt and it was better than ever before Naruto noticed. The decor was more elegant, refined in some way. The hardwood floors seemed darker, the flowers more beautiful, the tapestries richer. There were a lot of men and geisha inside, but the air maintained a private character to it. Intimacy seemed to encircle one, though maybe that was because of the low sounds of the shamisen in the background and the fact that the light above the tables were slightly dimmer. Naruto slipped inside with Jiraiya. Jiraiya immediately began chatting up some pretty young thing and her maiko while Naruto felt content to simply sit and watch around. He could see Hinata standing out beautifully in a ferozi blue kimono and an orange obi that she wore specifically because of him.

She was not flirting. She spoke low, sweet and guileless like she always did, but men still flocked to her because sex undulated from her like soft ripples in a pond. He could see the men asking for tea or sake not because they wanted any, but because they wanted to see her pour it, because she was doing it for them. He did not feel any sort of jealousy or animosity towards those men as he understood their feelings. He was only just beginning to feel that devastating physical attraction for her. He was in deep with Hinata and God alone knew what he would do if she were to leave him now. A part of him felt highly uncomfortable that that had happened him, that falling in love thing, that is. It made him feel incredibly vulnerable and a part of him wanted to push her away before she hurt him, though he had an idea that that part was the Kyuubi speaking. The other part of him felt incredibly blessed and grateful that he found someone like her. The only thing that would make him even happier would be if Sasuke could give up on training under Orochimaru and come back home. He could see them all hanging out together – himself, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke with Kakashi-sensei.

But then he'd come back to reality.

Hinata was still a geisha and he was still not her danna. She still lived in Kumo. Sasuke was still a rogue ninja. All three things were three separate factors that had nothing to do with each other and he tended to treat it as that. He categorized it in his mind trying to figure out separately how to deal with each problem then find an overriding solution to bring all three factors together to achieve his fantasy. He didn't worry too much though. He knew that at some point in time he would find some way to work out his problem of uniting himself, Hinata and Sasuke under one, happy idealistic dream.

He had no idea of course of how close he was to getting his dream, though it might not be as idyllic as he hoped for. He saw a maid bend and whisper to Hinata and hand her a note. He smiled knowing that she got great joy from reading anything now that she could see properly. He saw Hinata's face darken, her eyes widen and her lower lip tremble a bit. He wanted to get up immediately and demand what was in the note to upset her, but he didn't want to draw any attention to her discomfort. She was so shy and he knew that if he asked what was wrong in front of so many people she would only feel embarrassed. So he decided he would wait until the teahouse cleared a bit and he would get an opportunity to ask her later. He saw her take the note, fold it nicely and dip it surreptitiously into the small vase that held a burning candle, the note flaring up gracefully.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N**: Hadajuban – a base layer that serves as underwear for the kimono wearer.

There's a bit of a lemon coming up. Should I change the rating?

**Edited - 2013 January 19**

* * *

"You silly, silly little girl!"

Hinata didn't dare look up to see Nayako's face, but she had a fair idea of the expression it held. She could picture Nayako's dark eyes cruel with discontent and disappointment, her reddened lips tight with annoyance. She didn't need to look up. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the hem of Nayako's kimono, edged with some sort of appliqué that gave it the appearance of sand. It was quite striking.

"Hinata, anywhere you go and anyone you meet –" She cut suddenly off and sighed heavily in an attempt to rein in her emotions. "Just remember that your eyes could be your enemy, dear child. My brother was killed trying to steal your eyes. There have been others that have tried and inevitably failed all the same, but you are not in Konoha. Your chances of having your eyes ripped out of their sockets have increased now that you can see again. You are supposed to be the blind geisha. Leave it that way. It's for your own good. It's for everyone's own good, alright?"

Hinata nodded.

"And stop doing that thing with your fingers or I'll break them off myself. It's distracting and unbecoming. Now, let's go back out to the main banquet hall. I'll stay with you for a few minutes longer, but I have another engagement. Meet me at the Yuugao Teahouse after your hour is up. There's a maid and probably Hanabi outside who will escort you and Tomo's maiko, I forget her name. Poor child. She won't get very far. Remember, you're still supposed to be blind, so lean on What's-her-name a bit, alright?"

Hinata nodded. They left the toilets of the Ichimokari teahouse and headed out to the main banquet hall.

It was relatively easy for her to pretend to be still blind as in her mind she was seeing nothing anyway. She so wanted to go home, but it was early still. Was Sasuke-san watching her all now? Had he come for her? It was only a bit after one in the morning and the men had no intentions of calling it an early night, though the atmosphere had changed a bit. The lights were softer, the music lower and more caressing. Talk was more sporadic, but sincere. Everything became more pleasant, quieter and more private. There were four men at her table. Two of them were dipping into a platter of slivered beef and pickled ginger salmon. The other two swayed quietly with the music, lulled by sake and by Nayako's voice. There was another geiko and her maiko at the table as well. Nayako got up after a while and profusely apologized for her departure, but that her poor little blind maiko would have to keep them company. The men smiled, and thinking that Hinata was staring blankly at them, looked at her with lust in their eyes; their wet mouths opening just a bit, but not far enough for drool to dribble down. Surprisingly she remembered how Sasuke had looked at her with absolutely nothing in his eyes, yet he had kissed her like it was the end of the world. Naruto kissed her like that. Like it was the last kiss that he would ever bestow upon her and that it was his duty to ensure that he took her breath away with his mouth. She closed her eyes briefly. She could feel his presence still. He was sitting a few tables to the side of her, looking at her intently throughout the night, but he made no moves to come nearer to her. He didn't like to share, that's why, she concluded. He couldn't stand that he would be at that table with her, but that her attention would have to be divided amongst all the other men. She opened her eyes again and focused her pupil-less eyes at the hungry men in front of her. They quickly averted their eyes, unsure whether she could really see through them not. She adjusted her gaze so that it was more unfocused and they fell back into ease, but now more cautious.

An hour passed and she stepped outside with Choko. That was Tomo's maiko's name. Outside, the city loomed large. It was a bit after two, but there were a lot of people about still. The Kumo nightlife: flashes of colour, brisk movements in the shadows, stained lips, gleaming shuriken, heady laughter, smoky blue mist, wet streets. Choko's maid was there as well as Hanabi in her henge. They both trailed a bit of a distance away. Suddenly another maid appeared beside Hinata and whispered that Nayako had changed the meeting place to another Teahouse in the opposite direction. Hinata looked at the maid and smiled quietly. She looked at Hanabi and she nodded a bit reluctantly. She apologized to Choko and left with the new maid, walking as briskly as she could and disappeared down an underground tunnel. By the time they emerged at the top of Park Street Naruto had released the henge he placed on himself.

"Miss me?" He grinned naughtily at her and instinctively she moved closer to him, but not close enough to make prying eyes wonder. She placed her right hand on his shoulder as if she were still blind. He looked at her, but said nothing.

"Always." She answered. "Does Jiraiya-sama know what you're up to?"

"He was in on it."

"You had it all planned out?"

"What can I say? I'm a mastermind." The Kyuubi laughed raucously at that. Mastermind would never be the word he'd used to describe Naruto. Sasuke, yes; Naruto, no. _Shut up_, Naruto ordered.

"Where are we headed?"

"Anywhere you want to go."

"Someplace away from the open. It'll only be a matter of time before Nayako finds out what happened."

"And then she'd send all of Kumo's ninja force after me."

"No, she'd hunt you down herself like a dog, just to see the look on your face."

"Hunt me down like a dog, huh? It suits her."

"Naruto!" She scolded him and he laughed mischievously. Suddenly he found himself shy and nervous. "You um, do you want to, maybe, I don't know, head back to my room at the inn?" He felt silly. _Please, please, please, please, please, _he begged in his mind. The kyuubi frowned because he unwillingly respected Naruto for having the balls to proposition Bunny like that, but at the same time Naruto, as usual, was bugging the ever-loving crap out of him with his damned _tenacity_.

She blushed at the connotation and smiled. But her smile was checked when she thought what Nayako would do to her if she found out that her maiko had been in Naruto's room with no escort whatsoever. She looked at him and he was chewing his bottom lip nervously, waiting as patiently as he could for her answer.

"S-S-sure." His shoulders visibly threw off the weight of the world. "But, I can't be seen, you understand? We're in Kumo now, and everyone knows I'm a maiko and I don't have a _danna_. I'm not supposed to be seen with you like this."

"Of course, of course." He grinned even broader than she thought possible and she found herself smiling too, unable to hear the Kyuubi's gags of derision.

They walked up Park Street where there were less people, but enough for her presence to be noted. Naruto walked beside her and noticed the looks she got. He was proud to be with her; she was beautiful and she was his. Women stared at her in awe and contempt. Men looked at her with lust and amazement, though they were unsure of his presence. Was he simply an escort or was he more? They could have given them an answer, but she, being able to now see the looks that she got, moved over a bit, and he pulled forward to make it look more like he was simply escorting a blind geisha to her destination. He understood, and for that she was grateful, though she knew he hated it.

From Park they climbed the stone steps near the cemetery, walked past it quickly and headed onto the wooden suspension bridge that was framed by pine trees and hung over a relentless, but shallow river with sharp, unforgiving rocks. The inn was nestled amongst the pine trees. It was known for its hot springs. Naruto made a clone that made a horrible distraction outside that had the hostess and guests running outside to the side of the inn to locate the source of the noise. They slipped quietly inside and up the stairs to his room.

The room was basic – bed, small and round table with two chairs, a nightstand, a lamp, a radio, a wardrobe, a door that led to a bathroom, a window that overlooked the river. Hinata sat stiffly on one of the chairs, trying to avoid looking at the bed and the thoughts that it sprung in front of her. Unfortunately, Naruto sat at the edge of the bed, so she was forced to look at him and the inviolable bed.

"You alright? I saw that after Nayako and you disappeared to the toilets, you came back looking kind of sour."

"I'm fine. She wants me to pretend that I'm still blind. She doesn't want to draw suspicion to my sight. I'm supposed to be the blind geisha."

"And what do you want? I mean, you can't go on pretending forever."

"That's funny because I feel like I won't have to. I feel like this is all leading up to something, where soon everyone will know everything."

He wondered what she meant by that. What will everyone know? That she could see? If that's the case, why not let them know now? But he too had that feeling like he was biding his time; that this was all leading up to something. But he knew the cause of that feeling. His training would soon be up in a few months. But he didn't feel like bringing that up now.

"You hungry? You want me to get you something to eat, to drink?"

Because her clothes were so cumbersome and heading to the toilet was such a chore, she had gotten used to eating and drinking less while she was in her finery, and so she habitually refused as she did now. Suddenly, he asked,

"You got a note and it upset you. What was it?"

She was expecting the question and she answered immediately, maybe a bit too soon.

"It was a receipt for two gold kanzashi pins. Someone bought it for me, but held back the pins." It was not a lie. She simply did not tell him that it was Sasuke that sent her the receipt and why it would upset her so.

"Why would they give you the receipt and not the pins?"

"I suppose they want to give me the pins at a later date, but still want me to know that I have the pins to receive."

"You get a lot of gifts?"

"I don't know. If anyone has something for me, they must go through Nayako. If I do get gifts, she won't give them to me as yet as I'm not ready to receive anyone's attentions or intentions."

"So, she doesn't know about this gift?"

"No."

"Do you know who sent it to you?"

"I have a fair idea." _Sasuke-san_, she wanted to say.

"This person has _intentions_ for you?"

"I'm not sure what his intentions are." _He probably wants to kill me_.

"You see him a lot when you entertain?"

"Not really." She could see in his eyes that he was trying to recall every face that entered the Teahouse tonight. "He was not there tonight, as far as I know."

"He knew you were making your re-entrance into entertaining tonight?" He asked very suspiciously.

"Everyone knew. It was advertised."

"What does he look like?"

"Why are you asking me all of these questions? I don't want to talk about this anymore. You have nothing to worry about, Naruto."

"I'm sorry. It's just..." He trailed off not giving her a complete answer, or any answer at all really.

She stood up and he noted that she looked jarringly out of place in the simple and dull room. She belonged somewhere grander, more magnificent. He wondered how she would look in his tiny one room apartment in Konoha. She put on the radio and a song with a soft beat wafted through. She moved to stand next to the window, looking down at the river. Her back was turned to him. Her mind, locked away from him.

"You'd like Sakura. And I want you to get to know Sasuke when I bring him back." Her back stiffened, but he didn't notice it, as her obi took up most of her back anyway. "I can see us all hanging out. Me, you, Sakura and Sasuke with Kakashi-sensei. You'd like him too. He's a bit of a closet pervert and he's like super-old and he says the worst things at the worst time and he's always late and a bit condescending, but he's alright. You'd like him. Everyone does." Somewhere, Kakashi decided to have it notarized that Naruto was forbidden from giving his eulogy when the time came.

"You have plans for me?"She asked and turned around with an amused smile.

"I have lots of plans for you, when I become your danna." He wiggled his eyebrows at her in an indecent fashion and she giggled and laughed. A moment passed and a shadow came over her face.

"You think that'll work out? You make everything sound so easy. Do you think that you can bring Sasuke back so easily?" She walked over to stand in front of the wardrobe.

"Are you doubting me?"

"Never. I know that you'll bring him back. I know that for a fact." She just wished it wasn't true. She could only hope that she could get to Sasuke before he did. "I just hope that you know it won't be easy. He left on his own motivation."

"I know, but he's been misguided."

"By whom? By Orochimaru? Or by his brother? Or by himself?"

"By a lot of people and incidents."

"You too, but you came out of it differently. You're not filled with hate."

"I had the good luck to have great people in my life who have shown me that they care. With Team Seven, Sasuke was close to believing that people cared for him. He has trust issues. I have people in my life who I know would never hurt me. He thought he had that with his family, with his brother. Now, I think that he's afraid that if he lets people get close to him, they'll hurt him."

Hinata said nothing. Guilt was welling up inside of her. She too had let Sasuke-san get close and then she betrayed him. But this was all his fault! He only wanted to remove the seal from his eyes for his selfish gain. He cared nothing for her. Or did he? He opened up to her, she knew. And the way that he had kissed her… Did he always hate her? Or did he hate her after she had fooled him? She closed her eyes feeling sick. If Sasuke refused Naruto's help, she felt almost certain that she had some part to play in that. She had contributed to his downfall, somehow.

"I'll be leaving you soon, Hinata, in about six months' time. It's been two years since I've left Konoha. I feel stronger, faster, better, happier than I've been in quite a while. But I have to leave you for a little while. Sasuke's time is coming to a close with Orochimaru. I've already decided that I'll head back to Konoha in six months, enough time to regroup with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei and to get Sasuke back before his time is up. I want you know though, that this isn't over. I'm going to figure out a way to get us all together. You, me and Sasuke."

"I don't think you should worry about that." Her voice cracked and she looked up to the ceiling in an attempt not to let her tears spill.

"Of course I have to worry about that. You're my girl and I made a promise to you. I promised that I'd save you from this," He gestured in a way that somehow encompassed the entire tradition of geisha. "And I made a promise to myself and to Sakura, but more so to myself that I will bring back Sasuke. You and Sasuke are the two most important people in my life. I'm not exactly sure how, but I know that I have to...to...to I don't know, like align you and him in my life or something. You know what I mean?"

_We're aligned more than you think_, she thought helplessly.

"You make me really happy, do you know that?" She said to him suddenly. He looked up at her. She was leaning against the mirror of the wardrobe, her palms pressed flat on the mirror behind her, her eyes watching him with an intensity he did not know she was capable of. He shifted so that he could face her better.

"I hope so."

"You do." She reassured him. He held his breath waiting for the 'but' that was inevitably following her statement. "Right now, I-I need your confidence, Naruto. I admire you because you are so confident. You are almost like a god in the sense that whenever you say that you will do something, you get it done in a so it shall be written, so it shall be done sort of way. I need you to tell me that everything will work out fine."

"What are you worried about? Are you worried about me? Are you worried about that man that sent you the gift?" He asked the last question before he realized that he had asked it. The Kyuubi said one word, _projecting_.

"Yes. I am. Among other things."

"I'm coming back, you know. I'll only be leaving for a short while. And when I come back it'll be with Sasuke. I just got to take care of him for a while, but after that I'll be focussed on you. I'm coming back, Hina. I just have some things to take care of. I just want everything to fall into place."

"I just want everything to fall into place, too. Naruto..." She wasn't sure what she was going to say, what to say. He looked at her. She was so sad, but an undercurrent of anger was running through her, but he knew it was not directed at him, it was more inward.

"Come over here."

She gave him a shy smile and shook her head. In some ways she was glad that Nayako had the sense to stop Naruto from sneaking into her room at nights because it was only a matter of time before their innocent kissing and whispering in the dark progressed into something more.

Naruto understood why she didn't move. Her hair, her clothes, her make-up – it all seemed designed to encourage looks of envy and admiration, but deter any touching. He stood up and walked towards her. He put his hands on her waist. He would ruin her lipstick, but to hell with it. He kissed her anyway. She gently pushed him away. She looked at him. His baby fat had completely melted away and his whisker marks stood out in sharp contrast to his now slightly more angular face. He was gorgeous and she was finding it hard to resist him. "I won't leave any marks." He whispered against her ear.

She turned her head to reply but he silenced her with his mouth. He worked his tongue while he worked his hands to remove her obi. Clasps and cords and padding fell from it silently to the ground. She didn't notice it though, only realizing that she was feeling less constricted. Her kimono fell to the sides. Her breathing was now short, trembling gasps. Unlike before in the forest when she wore a traditional hadajuban for her underwear, today she wore a more modern and revealing panty and brassiere set as the weather was surprisingly warm, though they were at the end of October. She waited for him to untie the cord that held her underrobe in place, but he didn't do that. She was still very much clothed when he pushed up her underrobe and pushed her panty a bit to the side. She was shaking so much that Naruto wondered if she'd be able to stay fully conscious for what he had in mind.

He only teased her a bit, not with all of his fingers as he did not want to hurt her and he had promised to leave no marks, no evidence. Her knees were still closed shut as he had both his legs to the side of her locking her in. He groped her thighs assertively and she sighed. He pulled down the collar of her underrobe, careful not to disturb the makeup on her neck, though he wanted nothing more at the moment than to nibble on the pale skin there. His thumb gently brushed her shoulder as he pulled down her underrobe and Hinata's eyes flew open when her mind was suddenly assaulted with an image of Sasuke. She remembered what he had said to her. _'I didn't touch you indecently. I only pulled down your kimono a bit at the back to dress your wound. I did not touch you indecently,'_ She stood still as a statue. She wanted him out of her head. He shouldn't be in her mind at all, especially not now. But still she heard his voice. _I suppose the only man who's supposed to have access to your body is Naruto?_ Yes, she hissed a delayed answer to him in her mind and kissed Naruto with an unexpected fervour. He responded attentively, seizing her breasts in his hands. One hand slipped into a cup of her strapless white bra, the other hand dipped lower to caress between her legs. With steady, flat, up-and-down strokes he made her forget about Sasuke. He made her forget herself. Her hips bucked against his fingers and slowly he took his right knee to gently pry her knees apart.

"I want to taste you," he whispered and she lost her breath for a moment.

He stooped, but still let her wait a bit as he skirted around her, kissing her thighs. By the time he placed the feather-light licks on her she was already on her way. She damn nearly ripped all of his hair out of his head when she lost complete control and needed something to hold onto.

She collapsed into his arms as her knees were too weak to support her. He carried her over to the bed, where she sat down, shyly, her entire face red and unable to look him in the eyes.

"I think…I think I have a headache." He mumbled and gingerly lifted his hand to make sure he still had hair on his head. "Sorry," She muttered so low, that only her chin heard her.

"Feeling better?" She nodded vigorously and he smiled brilliantly and proudly, like a man. Still she didn't dare look him in his eyes. "Do you think you can stand up now?" She nodded and stood up. He tied her obi for her, crookedly and there were some padding and clasps remaining in his hand that he figured were probably unimportant so he cast them aside. He inspected her when he was done. Her lipstick was smeared right off as most of it was on his face, remnants of it on another part of her body. She was a little sweaty and stray baby hairs stuck to her glistening, damp forehead. Her make-up was otherwise not smudged. He smiled. No convicting evidence.

The memory of her face when she read the receipt earlier suddenly came into his mind and acute jealousy spiked within him. Who was that man? He didn't know why but he was sure that it was the same man that was in the room with her the night of her near-rape. She never told him who that man was, and he thought that he'd never have to ask. He wanted to, but he couldn't face the answer.

"Am I yours?" He asked her suddenly and her head snapped up in confusion.

"What? Of course. Why would you ask me that?"

"I'm yours right? And you're mine?"

She tilted her head to the side a bit and looked at him. It was so odd to see such vulnerability in him. She knew he was thinking of the gift she received from her 'nameless' admirer. She knew that she was Naruto's, but she also knew that unwillingly and unwittingly she had become Sasuke-san's too. She had become mixed up in his brain and heart along with his brother and along with Naruto. But that was his business. She was Naruto's girl. Sasuke-san could try, but he was not going to take her away from Naruto.

"I'm all yours." She answered him and he smiled in relief.

When Naruto dropped her off at the okiya it was nearing four o'clock. She was about to climb the steps at the right side of the courtyard that led to the room she shared with Nayako when Hanabi appeared in front of her.

"Had fun?" She asked. It was dark, but she could see from the moonlight and the street lights the smirk on Hanabi's face.

"It's not polite to spy on people." Hinata feebly chastised her.

"You'll soon learn that privacy is overrated for a Hyuuga. And besides, I wasn't spying on you for any perverted reason. I was actually covering you. You got a receipt and you burnt it, from Sasuke, wasn't it?" Hinata's eyes opened wide, but then remembered that of course at all times Hanabi would be watching her, watching out for her.

"Yes. It was a receipt for kanzashi pins."

"I know. I saw it. That's not what I meant. What do you think he meant by that gesture, besides the fact that apparently Sasuke has a sense of humour? A warped sense of humour."

"I think that he plans on seeing me soon. Did you not see him?"

"No. I scanned the area within a three mile radius but he wasn't anywhere to be seen."

"He could have been hiding in a genjustu. Naruto says that Sasuke-san's especially adept at genjustsu."

"I doubt it. One of the abilities of a skilled Byakugan user is to see through genjustu. I saw through a good few nin's henge, but Sasuke was not in Kumo. He's coming for you, but he'll take his time about it. He's teasing you, like how Naruto teased you tonight."

"Don't! You speak out of turn! Know your place!" Hinata whispered fiercely at her. For a brief moment shock appeared on Hanabi's face, but it was gone so quickly Hinata wondered if she imagined it.

"You sound like a Hyuuga heir already." She said with a harsh, but low and dangerous tone. Hinata was confused to the response, but then remembered what she overheard Nayako saying to Hanabi earlier.

"I have no interest in becoming the Hyuuga leader, Hanabi-chan. Don't let Nayako get inside your head. Once she's there she won't come out."

Hanabi considered her older sister knowing that she was right. She was picking a fight with the wrong person. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to apologize. Instead, she said,

"Nayako's really angry. She spent the last two hours telling me in various and very un-ladylike terms that I was the worst ninja she'd ever met. You're really going to get it."

"I know what I'm in for." Hinata bravely replied but knew that she was going to receive a very embarrassing inspection and tongue lashing and probably a few slaps when she stepped into that room.

"Hmm, well that's Nayako. It's a bit after four and you've had no sleep. I covered for you, but you're not getting away from me. You still have to be up at six o'clock for your training." With that she walked past Hinata and on to the other side where the maids' quarters were. Hinata climbed the steps, took off her okobo and gently slid the door open. She was met with a hard, open-handed slap that sent her spinning half-way across the room.

That was six months ago and when Hinata thought about the beating she got that night she almost laughed at how she had thought that that was painful. She didn't know painful until she started to train with Hanabi.

"A ninja can be knocked down with a single, perfect punch." She remembered Hanabi saying.

She spent the first couple of months learning how to gather chakra into her eyes and hands, and taking human anatomy tests. She was nowhere near ready for any battle whatsoever. Rather she was training for a specific moment. She had only one chance to catch Sasuke-san off-guard. She had only one chance to land a blow that would, if not incapacitate completely, at least throw him off long enough for Hanabi to debilitate him.

"A knockout like that involves a perfect combination of power and precision; enough force to shut down the brain. As a Gentle Fist user, we don't go for power in so much as precision. I'm not training you to develop your eyes to see over 10km. You'll have time for that later. I'm not training you to have the ultimate defensive and offensive weapon. You'll have time for that later. I'm not even going to train you in speed. Again, you'll have time for that later. I'm training you specifically for timing and precision. I can see that last night Nayako hit you very hard. Do you want to know what a slap from me will feel like?"

Hinata remembered that she hadn't even gotten time to react. Hanabi hit her across the face much more gently than Nayako did, but the effect was a hundred times more devastating. It was like receiving a sledgehammer to the face. Days were lost after that slap. An unconvincing lie also had to be told to Naruto as to what happened to her. When she regained consciousness a couple of days later, Hanabi had said to her,

"I want you to do that to Sasuke. He'll be expecting you to hit him, but he won't be expecting you to hit him that hard. He won't be expecting a hit so gentle that it won't leave a mark, but so hard that he'll slip into a coma."

She had smiled. She wanted to hit Sasuke-san that hard. She couldn't wait.

She knew that he was watching her, though how much he knew she wasn't sure. She trained indoors and with her Byakugan activated. She knew he was watching her, but this time she did not feel as vulnerable. This time she felt ready for him. She knew he was watching her, as was everyone else. Hanabi was watching her progress. Nayako was watching her every moment to ensure that she stayed away from Naruto. Naruto was watching her and her every client, wanting to know who was her mysterious sender of gifts. Everyone was watching her. She was a better dancer now that she could see. But no one knew that except a very few and all of Kumo flocked to see the blind geisha with the pretty eyes that could dance like an angel. Sasuke-san was watching her too. She remembered the note she received from him after she had performed for the Seasonal Dances in front of hundreds.

_You didn't dance for me like that._

The note was attached to a box holding two kanzashi pins.

"He's trying to freak you out. He's all about genjustsu so I'm not surprised that he's playing mind games." Hanabi had said. "You shouldn't take him on. Would you like me to make some tea for you? It'll help you calm down."

She had looked at her little sister and was amazed that she would offer to make tea for her.

"Do you want me to make tea for _you_?" Hinata had replied for Hanabi was pale and often had to disappear from their training sessions for hours at a time, only to return looking like she was somebody's ghost. Hanabi had not replied, only giving a small and slightly confused smile.

For a brief few months Hinata had it all. Hinata and Hanabi got along well enough that Hinata even managed to see Hanabi laugh at something once or twice. She was with Naruto, though after that fateful night she was lucky if she saw him for longer than an hour or two at the Teahouse. She and Nayako had returned to friendlier terms now that Hinata's face was known all over Kumo as the famous blind geisha and Kumo's number one dancer. She remembered what Nayako had said about that.

"Hmm, you want Naruto to be your danna, huh? Listen, your reputation is the most important thing a geisha can have. Not just geisha, actually, but as a lady. I know that I was hard on you, but you have to understand that I don't want to see you get hurt by malicious slander. Here's what, I've figured out a way to decrease your debts significantly and to get you on the fast track to getting a danna. But you have to work even harder than you are now. I'm going to make you the best, Hinata-chan and I know that you want to be the best for your precious Naruto-kun. He'll be your danna in no time."

Hinata wasn't sure exactly what other motive Nayako had for making her the best and most famed dancer in all of Kumo, but she supposed she would have to wait and see, because she knew that Nayako could _never_ be doing it to bring her maiko and Naruto together.

Slowly, she gained more confidence as a geisha and as a budding ninja. For once, she felt as if she could walk at Naruto's side proudly, though none of that would be happening if Nayako had anything to say about it. Still she felt as if something was coming to a head. She felt as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop. It came one day when Naruto was at the gates of Kumo and she and Nayako were there to wave him and Jiraiya goodbye. Hanabi had mysteriously disappeared as was happening a lot lately.

Not for a long time would Naruto sneak into her room or take her for midnight strolls in the foggy roads of the mountainous Kumo or sit and adorn her with his warm smile from across the table at the Ichimokari Teachouse; perhaps never again if she made up her mind to join him in Konoha or whether to stay in Kumo and continue her life as a geisha, ignoring any familial duties in Konoha. For she had some huge questions that she had spent some time avoiding. Should she join a family whom she didn't know? Her life was in Kumo. With her newfound respect and fame she realized that she rather liked dancing and if she got any more famous she would be able to choose her clients. Was there a future for her as a geisha? Yes, there was. She remembered Gaara's words. Could she mix being a ninja and geisha? There was a possibility. She felt so much power when she activated her Byakugan, and felt so much more in control now that she was so renowned in Kumo, that she absolutely thought that she could not give up either profession. But would she actually be good at the both of them? The answer to that was fast approaching in the form of Sasuke. When would he arrive? When would he make his presence known and stop hiding in the shadows, sending her creepy gifts? If she failed to take him down...well, the rest would fall like dominoes. A sudden and greatly terrible apprehension filled her and she hugged Naruto tighter, throwing caution to the wind. To hell with who saw her.

"I'll be back soon, Hina. I promise. I'm yours, remember?"

"I know. I'm yours too."

She released him with tears in her eyes. Jiraiya turned to Nayako and said, "You don't have much time left, Nayako." Both Naruto and Hinata looked from one to the other trying to decipher what he was referring to.

"I know. But I think that things are coming to a head soon."

"What do you have planned?"

"Plans? No, I have no plans. I'm like a shark. I'm an opportunist."

"A bottom-feeder, more likely." Naruto muttered and Hinata elbowed him, but still giggled. They hugged one more time and turned to go.

"I'll see you soon, Hinata! I'll bring Sasuke back in no time." He shouted as he waved to her and took off in a run down the hill after Jiraiya.

"Is that so?" Sasuke muttered to himself from a distance away in the trees as he looked at the retreating form of Hinata and her older geisha sister.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N**: _Hello all. Sorry about the late update, but someone broke into my house and my laptop, among other things, was stolen. The current borrowed laptop I have – sucks. I lost everything for this story – all of my research, summaries, quotes and prompts. *sigh* The show must go on. Anyway, here it is._

**Edited - 2013 January 19**

* * *

Hiashi stirred in his bed. A light drizzle had fallen and the atmosphere was now humid and stifling, but that was to be expected in May – the mingling of heat and rain. It was six o'clock on a Thursday morning. As usual for the last ten years, he awoke with his Byakugan activated. God alone knew what he expected to see. Maybe Hinata in her flowery white nightdress, still curled up in the foetal position as she slept? Maybe Hizashi on the training grounds, the cursed seal on his forehead wrinkled by creases of determination? Maybe Hiashi hoped to see his wife lying next to him again, snoring if she slept on her back, quiet if she slept on her side? Maybe he hoped to see Hanabi, coming in from an early morning training session, absently sharpening a kunai as she made her way to the kitchen? He didn't know exactly what he expected to see, but somewhere within him he hoped to see those images for real one day. Nowadays, he only saw ghosts.

For a long time he was filled with rage. It radiated off of him loud and sharp. Then it settled under the surface. It bubbled and gurgled right under his skin, boiling with his blood. It was so close to the surface that he barely spoke for years, trying his best to keep a tight-lipped seal on the anger he felt. At some point in time the anger settled into a familiar presence; a resigned shadow. He supposed that even Sisyphus got used to pushing that stone up the hill.

He threw the sheet off of him, deactivating his Byakugan in the process. He stood up and put on a black robe over his black pajama bottoms. He moved ten paces to the left and stood with his hands on the handles of the shogi doors that separated his bedroom from the mourning room. With a heavy sigh he parted the doors and entered, but not before carefully removing his bedroom slippers. He padded over the dark cherry wood floors, his feet hot against the cool grains. The smell of incense almost overpowered him; it smelled like jasmine and ylang ylang. He was romantically lit by the flickering lights of the candles. As he got closer to the altar the scent of the hydrangeas and the tiger lilies soothed his nostrils. Branches of green bamboo stood in low, round pots on either side of the altar.

Someone had already rearranged the portraits so that a fourth one could have been added. It must have been grandmother, he thought; and then thought bitterly that the old bat just wouldn't give up and die. Meanwhile, the younger generation kept falling like swatted flies. His wife's picture used to be in the centre, but now she was shifted a bit to the right. She was smiling happily in that one. Next to her was Hinata's picture. It wasn't right to have the image of a young child, smiling shyly, up on an altar. His fists closed tightly into indignant balls. Next to Hinata's image was that of Hizashi. He hated pictures, but he posed purposefully in this one, his face stern; his Caged Bird seal blatant. Hiashi sighed again and looked down at the base of the altar where an overturned framed photo lay. He took it up. It was over six months since Hanabi had been gone missing. He had nearly killed Shino, Kiba and his damned dog. "You are her teammates! You are supposed to look out for each other!" The Hokage herself had to subdue him. Grandmother said that it was time. He sighed again and hung the framed photograph of Hanabi up next to her mother's. He stepped back and bowed three times. On the fourth bow he couldn't raise up anymore. Or more really, he didn't want to.

* * *

Hanabi had excused herself from their walk and now Hinata was sitting unaccompanied on a bench. She didn't mind, however; she needed the time for herself. She was constantly in the presence of people – Nayako, Hanabi, other geisha, men. The only time she had free was when she was in the bathroom. She was in the middle of Black Pool Square watching the red-speckled ducks pick at crumbs that visitors tossed into the black river that meandered through the square. It was a bit after three in the afternoon. It was not as hot as it could have been for May, but she was shaded by a leafy Hackberry. Her kimono was a goldenrod yellow with muted accents of red and chocolate brown, while her obi was an oily black with a silver embroidered edge.

"I know who you are." The middle-aged man with dyed too-black hair and dressed in a pale grey shirt and black trousers said to her. He had been looking at her for a while now and she had noticed him slowly making his way to her in what he hoped was a casual and unassuming fashion. As she had been expecting him she pretended to be surprised and purposely looked a few degrees off from his person. She said nothing, only wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion.

"You're that blind geisha. I saw you dance a couple of weeks ago. You're spectacular. When do you reckon you'll be dancing again?"

She gave him a tight smile and blinked up at him in what she learnt was a coquettish way. She saw him blush. He made no attempts to hide it as he still thought she could not see him. She however, couldn't help but look down and away.

"Hmm. I suppose if I want to talk to you I have to pay to do it." She attempted a giggle and it came out almost like a huffed breath of incredulity. He smiled broadly and she could tell that he was enraptured with her. She would definitely be seeing him later at the teahouse and he would most likely make it his business to seek her out. All evening his mind would be on her yellow kimono. She found this ironic as she had heard somewhere that the colour yellow was the second to last level of arousal on the Arousal Colour Spectrum. He was about to say something else, when a woman a distance away called him.

"Ah. That'll be my wife. I do hope to see you later tonight, Hinata-chan." He gave her a light bow and hurried over to his wife, who was now regarding Hinata with vacant mixture distaste and envy.

Hinata sighed and would have slumped back in her seat if her obi was not keeping her spine as stiff as a teenage boy's sheets. She didn't know what to make of her newfound fame. She was _finally_ good at something. She was good at dancing. She was excellent at it. She possessed a certain musicality and understated eloquence, modesty and dignity to her dancing. It was a bit funny to her that people asked her to describe her technique as she had none. She was being herself. It was this being herself – shy, quiet and simple – together with her fame as a dancer, which was now increasing her popularity as a maiko. They thought she was being mysterious or coy, while in reality she could not think of anything to say as her mind was occupied by other things. They loved the fact that she would startle when they called her name, mistaking it for adorable timidity and not genuine absentmindedness. But Hinata was no fool. She knew how to capitalize on this. Nayako was now more obliging to her maiko. If she didn't feel like talking to a particular client then Nayako would politely, but firmly and tactfully remove the unwanted guest. One day she did not feel like entertaining at all and Nayako _actually_ consented to her staying in. But loneliness and fear gripped her so strongly that she hurriedly got dressed and nearly ran to the comfort of the teahouse. The loneliness came from missing Naruto. The fear stemmed from Sasuke. Inadvertently they had made her take comfort in a lifestyle she previously only tolerated.

She took refuge in the fact that all of her troubles could be traced back to some wrongdoing on the part of someone other than herself. When Nayako upset her, Hinata took pleasure in blaming her geisha sister. If it weren't for Nayako and her stupidly ambitious brother then Hinata would never be in this mess. Other days she blamed Sasuke. His revenge fuelled mind had her in her current predicament. If he had never kidnapped her she would never have had to hide from Naruto the fact that she willfully kissed his best friend then stabbed him and left him for dead. Sometimes, she blamed Hanabi. On really bad days she would blame Hanabi. If her sister had been less ambitious and said something earlier then things might not have gotten so out of hand. She might have been in Konoha all now learning the Gentle Fist style other than for the sole purpose of incapacitating Sasuke.

On some days, Hinata was quite comfortable in laying blame to everyone other than herself. As far as she was concerned there was no possible existence of any transgression on her part. Whenever she did wrong, she was simply reacting to the circumstances with which she was presented.

But that was on some days. For the rest of the days she realized that she had done wrong and she had to fix it. She didn't mind that a problem occurred. It was the fixing it part that she had the problem with. This was because the fixing it part meant putting herself in grave danger in an attempt to keep the man she loved.

She knew that she would soon see Sasuke. Any moment now he would make his presence known. The knowledge was devastating. As much as she complained about never being alone, she consciously and sometimes unconsciously sought out a human barricade. She felt most comfortable at the Teahouse, surrounded by men – ninjas and the like. She was at her most confident that he would never attack her there. Still, she felt that constant nervousness. It was driving her up the greatest wall with anxiety and she took comfort in using her Byakugan.

For the first time Hinata felt like she – mousy, timid, soft-spoken, naïve, delicate, indecisive – could be a force to be reckoned with. There were no secrets or shadows. She saw everything. She knew everything…well, within her limited radius of one hundred yards. She was no match for Hanabi, yet these days she was beginning to wonder about that as she saw her sister, gaunt and tired even under her henge, take up her seat next to her on the bench.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"I'm fine."

"You're always fine."

"If that's case, then why ask me if you already know the answer?" Hanabi replied as she got up and Hinata followed.

"I can see that you've been throwing up regularly and violently." She didn't bother to mention the weight loss, the blood that came up with the hacking coughs, the raw sores…

"That's a very astute use of the Byakugan. I hope you can use it just as skillfully when you encounter Sasuke."

"I will." Hinata responded weakly, recognizing that Hanabi had changed the subject and that there was no way she would be allowed to brace the topic again. Hanabi turned her tired eyes to look at her.

"I worry about you."

"You worry about me?" The tone alone made it clear that Hinata thought Hanabi had to be joking. But with the roll of the eyes, Hinata realized that she wasn't. "Why?"

"Are you attracted to Sasuke?"

"What! No!"

"You answered too quickly. I know you haven't seen him since you've gotten back your sight. Why are you so defensive?"

"I'm not defensive." Hinata said firmly and stiffly as she folded her arms, realizing retroactively that in that tone of voice she wouldn't believe her either. Hanabi smiled, forcing Hinata to soften her features a bit. She unfolded her arms and replaced her left hand on Hanabi's shoulder. She was supposed to be blind after all. "Why did you ask that?"

"Whenever I mention Sasuke's name I can see that you try very hard to keep your features neutral and your body goes rigid, your face reddens, but you try to fight it. You're trying to fight the messages that your amygdala is sending to your nervous system. You're fighting your brain chemistry against social conventions which say that you shouldn't react that way to the simple calling of his name."

"Can…c-can you actually read my mind?!" Hinata whispered, her eyes wide as she spun Hanabi around to face her.

"I can only see the chemical transmissions if I really, really, really focus. Don't worry, I can't actually tell what you're thinking. I'm not a mind reader." Hanabi calmly replied and continued to walk, forcing Hinata to keep pace.

Hinata stared at her little sister in awe and slight fear. Any feeling of power about her Byakugan instantly vapourized as she recognized that she was nowhere near as powerful as Hanabi. It amazed her even more to know that Hanabi was just a child, and that there were other more powerful Hyuugas that she, Hinata, supposedly belonged to. How on earth was she supposed to live up to a family name and dojutsu that inspiring and fearsome? She remembered Naruto telling her that sometimes he felt inadequate. It was a feeling that threatened to overcome him many times. Always dead last, never succeeding on the first try – those were the things that would have crushed a lesser man. But Naruto was a man apart, undiminished and undeterred by any failure or fear. Hinata wasn't quite sure his amygdala was even working because Naruto feared nothing. She needed him now. She needed his unwavering confidence. She needed him.

"My response doesn't mean that I'm attracted to Sasuke-san." Hinata said after a while. "It simply means that I was left with a healthy anxiety of him after our last encounter, which is understandable. My face is not reddening because I'm blushing, but every time I think of him I get so…so…upset!"

Hanabi was surprised to see her sister that annoyed. It still lost most of the effect, however, as Hinata's timid voice was about as threatening and forceful as an ice-cream. A melting one. Still, she said nothing, letting her sister rant.

"I pity him. But he irks me because…because he makes me think things I don't like to think about."

Hanabi's eyebrows shot in the air.

"No, not like that!" Though her brain unwillingly flashed the memory of the kiss they shared.

"You only think those kinds of thoughts about Naruto?" Hanabi teased with a mischievous smile. The smile was the only reason that Hinata didn't walk away right then and there. Instead, she only blushed and decided to ignore her in an attempt to keep the peace. Hanabi had a nice smile and Hinata liked to see it.

"I don't have any…illicit thoughts about Sasuke-san." She tried very hard to ignore the memory of their kiss. It was easy to do as the memory kept melting into the image of him bleeding and breathless. It left a bad taste in her mouth. "I understand why Naruto wants to bring him back. Joining up with this Orochimaru person is a bad start judging from what I heard of him. And Naruto understands that revenge is like a black hole that would only suck in Sasuke-san deeper and deeper. It's not healthy to focus on vengeance like that. Sasuke-san is only keeping his wounds fresh by planning to kill his brother through whatever means necessary.

"However, when Sasuke-san took me, he said some things to me that. . . I mean, what would you do if your brother killed your entire family? Wouldn't you want revenge too? Is it not fair for him to want that? He told me that everyone has him branded as the villain. But doesn't he have a legitimate need for justice? I've never had what he had – a family that I lost, well…I did, but I just can't remember it." She smiled weakly and apologetically at Hanabi. "But I feel like I can empathize with Sasuke-san. And I don't like that. I feel as if I'm not supposed to empathize with him. It makes me uncomfortable. You're telling me he's a criminal. Naruto's telling me he's a misguided friend. He's telling me that he's a vengeful clan member. My heart goes out to him, but my brain disagrees with him."

Hanabi didn't say anything for a while. When she finally spoke her tone was subdued.

"I remember something Father said to me once when I was younger and felt badly for defeating a classmate in a spar. He said that imagine you meet someone trapped in a deep hole and you say, 'oh my! That's so horrible what happened to you. Let me get down in that hole and keep you company because I feel so horrible about what happened to you.' That's empathy and it's very dangerous. Then he imagine that you meet a person trapped in a hole and you say, 'oh my! That's so horrible what happened to you. Let me go get some rope to help you out of that hole.' That's sympathy and it can be useful. Father said that to me. It's to help me keep my emotions in balance. Granted, I don't think Father is anyone to talk about emotional balance, but…sister, that's why I worry about you. You're too naïve. Naruto also. Maybe that's why you two found each other. Sasuke is a criminal – a rogue ninja. He has joined up with an S-class rogue ninja who murdered the third Hokage and the Kazekage among many other horrific deeds. I know that you think that he's just a young boy trying to avenge his clan's murder, but you cannot let yourself empathize with him. That's the difference between you and Naruto. Naruto is sympathizing. He wants to bring him back and help him. Me too. But you…I worry about you. I don't know what you're going to do when the time comes."

Hinata kept quiet, not knowing what to say. She wished she had said nothing at all. She shouldn't have given words to her treacherous thoughts. She should have just continued to blame Sasuke for all the wrong in her life. It was much easier. It was much simpler.

They arrived at the okiya and realized that Nayako had returned from whence she came, and it wasn't hell, as Naruto would have said. She was spread out magnificently on a purple left arm chaise lounge; her light golden kimono impacting upon the eyes solidly, daring you to look at something else. It was a skill especially with her obi still tied in its immovable form, but Nayako made her body look lithe and graceful with minimal effort on her part. When they walked in she was in the process of speaking to a maid instructing her to peel the skin off of the apples. Hinata smiled unconsciously knowing that Nayako liked the skin, but took them off because Hinata did not like the skin on her apples. She seemed to be glimmering with happiness and her rays were bouncing off of Hinata and Hanabi.

"Oh hello girls. Have some fruit. Did you two take a walk? It's really nice weather, isn't it?"

"Yes. I needed it. I was cooped up in here all morning training with Hanabi-chan. Where have you been, Nayako-san? You left early this morning."

Nayako smiled brightly and Hinata's stomach plunged. Her amygdala worked just fine. She knew that some sort of danger was coming up. She knew that smile.

"Well, Aunty and I have just returned from a very…prosperous meeting. I'm so happy that you're renowned now. I told you that I had a way to help reduce your debts. Your mizuage is coming up! And your highest bidder has shattered records."

Hinata leaned against the wall. She was feeling faint.

"Mizuage? Bidder? What are you talking about?" Hanabi asked.

"It's Hinata's coming of age. Her sponsor has made the highest bid in history. But don't worry; he won't become her danna or anything like that. After he takes her virginity he won't have any further relations with her. So she can still hold out hope that her Naruto-kun will come back to her after that." Nayako finished cheerfully. Hanabi stared at her in surprise, unsure of what to say or how to react. Suddenly they heard a loud thud and they turned to see Hinata passed out cold on the floor.

"Oh, don't worry about her, Hanabi. She does that _all_ the time." Nayako said, still in a cheerful mood.

* * *

"So, Sakura, you going to treat me to lunch today at Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked as he grinned mischievously at his teammate, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I've only been back today and tomorrow we have to fight Kakashi-sensei. This might be our last day together." He said suddenly melodramatically and she found herself laughing.

"You better pray it's our last day today. I don't want to live to regret the dent you'll make in my pocket. Come on, let's go."

"Yes! Score!"

"Don't make me change my mind!" She warned him and he sobered up immediately. She inwardly smiled. She still had it.

They took a seat at the counter. Teuchi was not there, but Ayame was. She smiled brightly at Naruto as if she had just seen her long lost brother or something. Naruto blushed. Ayame didn't need to ask what Naruto wanted instead only hastily placing in front of him an extra large, steaming bowl of the best ramen ever with the biggest slices of pork that Sakura had ever seen.

"Oh my! Thanks Ayame! Keep it coming. Sakura over here is paying."

Sakura wondered how much jail time she'd have to do if she killed Naruto right now. She decided to plot his murder later as her stomach growled and her senses got the savoury scent of noodles and pork and chives. She ordered a small bowl.

"So, Naruto, how was it?"

"Travelling with Pervy Sage was great! I trained every day. Sometimes my training took the form of running away from angry husbands and women calling us perverts – by the way the Pervy Sage is now banned in the Land of Hot Water; you don't want to know why. He's also not allowed to travel with any coconuts or sausage. Again, you don't want to know why. But otherwise it was great."

Sakura could see that clearly he had trained. His new black and orange jumpsuit couldn't hide the fact that there were strong and hardened muscles underneath it all. His skin was tanned, his features more angular. His eyes were still the same bright and eager blue eyes, but there was also a hint of steeliness behind them that she associated with maturity. She too had changed, in her opinion. Her leg muscles were toned with sculpted definition. She stood up straighter; her walk was prouder and more enlivened to match her personality and confidence. Too bad Naruto didn't think so, she thought slightly annoyed. She _was_ more womanly! She narrowed her eyes at him. Who did he think he was? She had grown more womanly over the last two and a half years! She was about to brace the topic of how much she had changed when he said something.

"I met someone, a really great person."

Sakura's eyebrows quirked. This person had to be someone very affecting. Naruto met a lot of people every day that all had some sad story and he helped them all. She waited patiently to hear about how he had miraculously changed this person life with the right combination of blows and words that inspired them to run into that burning building and save the orphaned pandas or rappel off of a waterfall just to hear his father's dying words or whatever dramatic life story they had.

"Her name is Hinata and she's a geisha and she's my girlfriend."

Sakura stared at him. "What? You have a girlfriend? A geisha girlfriend?"

"Yep! She's really nice. You'll like her. When I met her, she couldn't see properly."

"Oh! That would explain it!" Sakura exclaimed and Naruto gave her a look. She giggled in mirth.

"Ha ha. She had an operation and she can see fine now. Ha! And she's still with me!"

Sakura didn't bother to comment on that statement; the insult was already built-in. Too bad that the idiot didn't realize it, she thought shaking her head as she laughed.

"Okay, so you guys been together long?"

"About a year and a half." He said proudly.

"So, she's a geisha. She's from Kumo? How…how are you planning on working this out?" She didn't need to elaborate on what 'this' was. _This_ stood for the long-distance that he would have to bear as now he was back to help bring back _him_. She didn't dare mention his name, not even in her mind. She knew that such a task could take two days, two weeks, two months, two years or twelve years.

"I don't know. But I'll work something out. I gotta work out enough money to try to clear her debts because right now, she's not supposed to actually have a boyfriend or a danna. She's not of age, yet. Something'll work out."

Sakura looked at him thoughtfully. Naruto always gave himself the impossible task. She didn't know much about geisha, but she knew the lifestyle they lived – expensive. Naruto could barely afford to eat proper food other than ramen. How on earth was he going to clear her debts and maintain the lifestyle that she had grown accustomed to? Why couldn't Naruto like a simple and quiet ninja girl from his own ninja village?

"Hey Sakura, you think that maybe the two of them are on a date? They denied it this morning, but I don't know…They look pretty close to me."

Sakura looked in the direction that Naruto was nudging her to look and there sat Shikamaru and Temari at a table tucked at the corner of the already tiny ramen stall. Temari's back was to them.

"Ugh." Shikamaru groaned.

"Let me guess, Naruto's giving you the thumbs up and smiling lewdly at us, isn't he?" Temari said.

"Yep."

"I guess two people can't have lunch together, huh?"

"Nope."

"I don't know what I would do without your stimulating and riveting conversation." Temari said, forcing him to look up at her. He scoffed and mumbled something. She had a pretty fair idea of what he said. She smirked.

"Oh I just remembered I was supposed to ask you something. What do you know about the Hyuuga affair?"

Shikamaru looked at her with surprise and confusion. It didn't last for long as he felt too tired to hold so many expressions.

"Why'd you ask?"

"About eight months ago, a couple of geisha came to Suna. They set up shop for about a few months. My brother took a liking to one of them."

"Not surprised that Kankurō fancied a girl that looks like a living doll."

"No, no, not Kankurō. It was Gaara that took a liking to the maiko. They're friends. They correspond."

"Gaara!"

"He _is_ capable of love and affection, you know."

"The love and affection for killing and blood." He muttered.

"What!"

"Nothing. I said nothing. I just stopped talking. Continue."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but decided to dismiss it. His shoulders sagged with relief or his usual laziness; she couldn't tell.

"Anyway, we all thought that there was something off about the girl. Gaara sent two scouts to Konoha but they were killed before they could reach us."

"Why'd he sent the scouts to Konoha?" He asked politely because he already knew where this was heading.

"Because the girl had Hyuuga eyes. I don't know, but I always got the impression that those pale, almost colourless eyes were the telltale signs of a Byakugan holder. The only thing is that she seemed to have no idea of what a Byakugan even was."

"Either that or she's the world's best actress."

"Hmm. She seems genuine, but…Our scouts had the same kind of marks that that young Hyuuga girl got when she fought Neji."

"Hanabi and the Gentle Fist. So this girl was a geisha, you say? Only Kumo can boast genuine geisha. Some time ago, maybe ten years ago, there was an incident where the Hyuuga heir was kidnapped by Kumo. But she supposedly died. Now what was her name again? God, I hated history class." His eyes rolled to the top of his head as he tried to remember.

"Hinata?"

"Yes! That was it. When did you say that you found the scouts?"

"About eight months ago."

"Crap. Hanabi Hyuuga went missing around that time on a mission near the border of Sand."

"I don't understand. This suggests that she knows that her little sister is alive. If that's the case then why didn't she say anything? And where is she now? Is she in Kumo?"

"If she is in Kumo, no wonder they couldn't find her. That's in a completely different direction from Suna. I don't know what she's up to, but she's put the Hyuuga household in a tailspin. I heard the elders are down on Hiashi Hyuuga to get married and produce an heir. Either that or they'd be forced to revamp Hyuuga law and make Neji the heir. And from the looks of it, Hiashi does not look like he'll be getting married any time soon."

"Why not?"

"Because he's batshit insane. I heard that he still sees the ghosts of his dead wife, brother and children."

"And what about Neji?"

"As much as he complains about the Hyuuga way of life and not being appreciated and destiny and blah blah blah, I think that he doesn't actually want that position of Hyuuga leader. Hanabi needs to come back because I know that's a position that she wanted."

"But she'll be coming back with the true Hyuuga heir maybe. Oh my! Do you think she went to Kumo to eliminate Hinata?"

"It can't be just that or else she would have done it already. But something strange is going on. I guess we can go to the Hokage with this and maybe Neji, but I don't want Hiashi Hyuuga to get wind of this and it turns out to be a false alarm.

"That would crush him."

"Well, we're both really busy with the upcoming Chuunin exams, so maybe after this we can get leave to Kumo?"

"We?"

"We might as well go together. Naruto over there already think that we're on a date."

"But this isn't a date." She reminded him.

"Why? Because I didn't pay for your food?"

"I thought you had something with Ino?"

He didn't answer her. Instead he got up from the table and threw down enough money for both of their lunches.

"See ya around, Temari."

She sat there shocked for a while. Shikamaru smirked. He never thought that he'd seen Temari blush.

"You didn't answer my question! Aren't you with Ino?" She shouted to his retreating form.

Naruto nudged Sakura and they both sighed wistfully.

"Aww. Lovers' quarrel." They said simultaneously.

"I wonder what it was about." Naruto asked.

It didn't take Naruto long before he found himself at Ichiraku's again, this time because he had to meet with Iruka-sensei. He really needed to talk to his former teacher especially after everything that happened with Gaara getting killed and coming back from the dead and all. But he really needed some advice on how to treat with the most recent letter he got from Hinata telling him of her upcoming mizuage. He didn't know why but he was almost positive that her unnamed admirer would be her sponsor and the one to deflower his girlfriend. Well, not if he had anything to say about it! He walked over to Ichiraku's hoping to meet Iruka-sensei on the way. Instead, he saw Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru!"

"Hey Naruto. I gotta go. I'm meeting Neji at the gates. We're heading to Sand to meet up with Temari.

"Wouldn't Neji feel like a third wheel on your date with Temari-san?"

Shikamaru thought about answering, but didn't bother. He only mumbled something or the other about trouble. Naruto had a fair idea of what he said. He waved goodbye and headed off to Ichiraku's.

"Oh Iruka-sensei. I'm so glad that you're here. I have a big problem."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N**: This is a long one. It was supposed to be beta'd but I didn't bother to wake up my beta at such an ungodly hour to beta this extra long chapter for a first assignment. I apologize for the length.

**Edited - 2013 January 19**

* * *

"So, let me get this right? You're girlfriend is a geisha maiko, who's not supposed to even have a boyfriend any how you take it, but her virginity was auctioned, someone won and it isn't you?" Iruka said to Naruto as they sat at the counter of Ichiraku's.

Naruto nodded sombrely.

"Yep. Basically, another man is going to have sex with my girlfriend before I even do."

"Well that's...shitty." It wasn't the most profound sentence that Iruka ever came up with but it was definitely the most fitting.

"Well, the whole point of the matter is that I would like to borrow some money from you." Naruto said. Iruka raised him an eyebrow.

"How much?"

"Enough to surpass a big amount," Naruto told him the cost of the mizuage that Hinata had quoted in her letter. Iruka choked on his noodles.

"Exactly what is it do you think I do? I'm a teacher, Naruto. I'm not in a drug cartel and I do not fund wars to small nations because that's the kind of job I would need in order to get that kind of money."

"So...that's a no, then?"

Iruka sighed. Naruto held his head in his hands. His face could have been used to illustrate the frustration and hopelessness felt by an animal that was about to be slaughtered.

"I can't just take her from Kumo because that might start off a war between Kumo and Konoha. It's not like she belongs over here. She's one of Kumo's best dancers. She's a money-maker. They're not going to give her up without a fight."

Iruka sighed again.

"Look, how do you really feel about this girl?"

Naruto shifted in his seat, his face screwed up in nerves and concentration. Iruka smirked. He was asking Naruto to delve into a part of himself that most men don't like to go into – that emotional part. He knew Naruto could talk a lot, a whole lot, talk until there weren't any more words left to say, but when it came to truly _expressing_ the things that lay in the midst of his heavily guarded heart, his former student was like most men – emotionally illiterate; only seeing white spaces in between black.

"She... when...uh..." Naruto fumbled and faltered. He had told Hinata how he felt. Why was it so hard to simply say it out loud to someone else? "Look, right now? I'm missing her like crazy. I'm always wondering what she's doing, when I can see her next. She makes me feel...better. She's sweet and kind and generous and patient and understanding. If I'm feeling at my worst she'll encourage me to get back up, forgive me for all the crap that I've said to her at some point and trust me when I say that I have said and done a lot of crap. She keeps right on trying to win over my heart even though she knows that it's all hers. Man, she even listens to my every word, even when I'm not saying anything particularly interesting. I mean, on paper it makes no sense for her to like me, but...that's what it is. She's...amazing. . . And I really love her."

Iruka looked over at Naruto, pride threatening to burst from his heart and drown him in good feelings. Naruto was not looking at him; rather his face was focused on the bowl of ramen in front of him as if the noodles had been the one to ask him to confess his true feelings for his girlfriend.

"Listen, I know that you're close to Lady Hokage, but I honestly don't think that she'd give you money so that you'd have enough to properly sleep with your girlfriend." Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I think that you should look for someone else that'll be willing to lend you that kind of money; someone who has that kind of money."

"Like who?" Naruto shouted in annoyance.

"Like Gaara. You did try to save his life and all. He does kind of owe you."

"Gaara? Gaara's the Kazekage now. Hmm. And he might not even mind. He and my girlfriend are friends. They correspond."

Iruka's eyebrows shot in the air.

"What?"

"Yeah, she met him at his coronation." Naruto waved aside his answer in dismissal. "But, Iruka-sensei, that's a brilliant idea!"

Naruto was up and off of his seat and bolting through the streets before Iruka could tell him of his suspicions. There was a high a high possibility that Gaara was the sponsor of that mizuage. Iruka could only hope not. Because if that was the case, Iruka could only hope that Naruto kept his temper in check. He did not want a repeat of their fight at the end of the Chuunin exams.

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

Gaara turned around in his seat at his office to see Temari standing at the door. She was dressed for a long travel, wearing mesh armour underneath a sleeveless purple dress with a purple blouse over it, a purple sash around her waist, hand warmers and leg guards. Her fan was strapped across her back as usual.

"Better." He answered her.

"You got a letter from Hinata?" She asked and Gaara glanced at the envelope that was in front of him on his desk, with the official seal of Hinata's okiya placed conspicuously on it. Today, he did not seem motivated to discuss his personal correspondence with her and so he didn't answer her. Instead he said,

"Have a safe trip. Hanabi Hyuuga may be young but she is quite dangerous. Age does not necessarily equate experience or inexperience in her case."

"I'm quite familiar with young upstarts being suspiciously powerful." She gave him a pointed look and if she didn't know any better she would have sworn that he gave her a faint smirk; very faint. "I can take care of myself, Gaara. But don't worry about me; it's only a reconnaissance mission of sorts."

"I know. Go on before that Nara boy falls asleep waiting for you at the gates. You can't let him get too comfortable. "

She smiled and walked off belatedly realizing that Gaara had made something resembling a joke.

Shikamaru and Neji were standing on the edge of Kuna, the towering outcrop providing some shade from the unforgiving, conquering blue sky. Ahead of them an endless expanse of brown sand lay punctuated every now and then by a pathetic cactus and sun-bleached bones, not necessarily of the animal variety. High up on the outcrop they could see ninja scouting; even further up were black specs – vultures scouting the ninjas. The bigness of it all made Shikamaru feel slightly overwhelmed and he leaned back on the outcrop intending to rest his eyes for a moment.

"You can't be idle for too long, huh?" Temari said to him causing Shikamaru to scowl as he opened his eyes and leaned off of the rock.

"I'm on power save mode." He mumbled.

"Temari." Neji said with a nod.

"Neji." She greeted him.

They set off immediately to the north.

"What did your Kage say when you told her of our suspicion?" Temari asked Shikamaru.

"She seems to have known of the situation already."

Temari gave him a questioning look.

"Jiraiya-sannin. He was in Kumo all that time training Naruto. He says that Hinata is Naruto's girlfriend."

"What?!" Neji and Temari shouted in unison and came to a halt simultaneously, causing Shikamaru to stop and turn to look back at them.

"Hinata-sama would never fall for someone like Naruto." Neji declared.

"How would you know? You last saw her when she was what, five?" Temari countered.

"No, but destiny has a way –"

"Wait, let me just stop you there Neji." She cut him off.

"Well?"

"Oh no, no, I didn't have anything to say. I just didn't want to hear you." Temari said and Shikamaru had to bite the insides of his cheeks to stop from laughing at the look on Neji's face.

"Anyway," Shikamaru started off before Neji killed Temari with looks of icy hatred alone, "The Hokage says Jiraiya was planning on telling Hiashi Hyuuga, but she's holding her hand because there seems to be something bigger going on and she thinks it involves Sasuke."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Oh great, not him again."

Shikamaru gave her a side glance. He wondered if she really disliked Sasuke for her own reasons or whether she was offering up sympathy for his first mission – the botched Sasuke Retrieval mission.

"Why doesn't Jiraiya-sannin investigate it himself?" Neji asked.

"He's busy with something even bigger she said, but she wouldn't elaborate. Not that I want to know. I have enough of a headache as it is." Shikamaru said and started to walk again. He sighed heavily. It was so blasted hot! "But this is just a reconnaissance mission. We'll report back to the Hokage and you to the Kazekage and together we'll move from there."

Temari and Neji nodded. Neji quickly sidestepped a small, rotting beast whose insides had been carefully picked out by vultures. He knew Temari did not care for his belief in destiny and to be honest, he hardly believed in that much either, only saying it out of a lingering habitual world view, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. It always seemed to be the case when it came to Kumo. He remembered Naruto's words. Neji looked up at the vultures circling the bright, blue sky and hoped that he could change Hyuuga destiny. He sped up past Temari and Shikamaru, forcing them to keep _his_ pace.

Only about four hours later did Naruto burst into Gaara's office unannounced. Gaara was not surprised to see him.

"Gaara!"

"Kazekage, we tried to stop him but - " Two nin rushed in after Naruto. Gaara stared at them and the two nin bowed and retreated, while Naruto wondered when did Gaara learn telepathy.

"Naruto. Does your Kage know that you're here?"

Naruto grinned mischievously. "Technically I'm still in Konoha. I left a clone."

"I see."

"Anyway, hey Gaara. How're ya feeling? Better? It can't be easy coming back from the dead and all?"

"You came all the way here to inquire after my health?"

"Not really. That was an empty gesture. I just didn't want to seem rude." Naruto said as he took up a seat uninvited. Gaara thought that Hinata would point that out as irony. "Anyway, I have to talk to you. It's about –"

"Hinata's mizuage?"

Naruto's face dissolved into confusion.

"Yeah? She wrote to you too?"

Gaara nodded. A small twang of jealousy and idle suspicion reverberated in Naruto's chest. He took a deep breath and dismissed it. "So you know that as her boyfriend, I need some money real fast otherwise some idiot will, you know..."

"Naruto, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Naruto's heart plummeted straight through his feet and past the stone floor as dreaded realization suddenly jumped on him.

"Oh no." He muttered in low tones. Gaara looked at him blankly, but curiosity slightly tweaked in his eyes. "Gaara, are you..." Naruto struggled to bring out the words, stumbling as if speaking it alone would confirm its veracity. ". . . Are you . . . are you Hinata's mizuage sponsor?"

In retrospect Gaara supposed that the circumstances could be misconstrued. After what seemed a decade, as far as Naruto was concerned, Gaara finally gave him an answer:

"No."

Naruto slid halfway down his seat as relief washed over him.

"Oh thank God. If you were Hinata's sponsor..."

"What would you have done?"

Naruto looked up at him and grinned mischievously.

"You like being back from the dead?"

"Are you threatening me, Naruto?" Gaara asked as tiny columns of whirlwinds twisted around his friend. Naruto looked around uncomfortably.

"I would never dare." He said soberly. Gaara almost smiled, but not quite. Naruto grinned again.

"Whew, kunai dodged. So...what did you want to talk to me about, because I don't have much time. I need to get to Kumo like yesterday and I need to borrow some money from you. Please."

"I think that Hinata is actually the dead Hyuuga heir, Hinata Hyuuga." Gaara – direct to a fault.

Naruto stared at him, his eyes melting into pools of disbelief.

"What?"

"I've sent Temari and your Kage has sent the Nara boy and Neji Hyuuga to Kumo to investigate the matter."

Does not compute, does not compute repeated like a mantra in Naruto's head.

"What?"

"I suspected this when she came to Kumo some months ago. I sent scouts to Konoha, but they returned dead with telltale signs of the Gentle Fist about their bodies. That was around the same time that Hanabi Hyuuga went missing. I take it you heard of that?"

"Wh –"

"Naruto, do you understand me? Do you know anything of this?"

Naruto continued to look unfocused, his eyes blinking rapidly as his unwilling brain tried to organize the stimulus into useful information.

" Uh . . .Th-there's a maid that recently joined Hinata. She's always with her. She's young. She came into Hinata's life after Hinata's return from Kumo, after her kidnapping at the edge of Sound..."

"Hmm, that must be Hanabi Hyuuga."

Naruto felt like a heat was rising up to his head.

"Something is going on. I don't know if Hinata knows everything that is going on, but I think that you should talk to her. I'll come with you if you want me to." Gaara offered to go because he knew of Naruto's rage. No matter what the outcome, he knew that he would hate for Hinata to be on the receiving end of that. He was going as Naruto's friend, but he was also going as Hinata's friend and self-proclaimed protector.

Naruto didn't move immediately. He sat there with anger boiling over in him from his own stupidity. How was it possible for him to not notice that those were Hyuuga eyes! Clearly, she was a Hyuuga. He remembered that the first thing he noticed about her was her eyes and their similarity to Neji's. But did Hinata really not know? She could never be lying to him like that. It just wasn't possible, in addition to the fact that he could not fathom any possible reason she would have to lie to him…yet, he couldn't shake that feeling. In his heart he knew that Gaara's suspicions would not be unfounded. In his heart he knew that Hinata was keeping something from him. But still. . .

"And what if you're wrong?"

"I will humbly apologize to you and to Hinata-chan. I'll give you whatever money you need. I will back you on whatever you decide to do."

Naruto nodded grimly as he looked at Gaara who was wearing full-length dark trousers, with a pair of laces on each leg, respectively a few inches below the waist and the knees, a long-sleeved crimson coat with flaring hemlines on the front and the back, a grey holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which he used to carry his gourd. He also wore another pair of casually worn belts around his waist. He looked ready to make good on his declaration.

Naruto stood up resolutely.

"Gaara, I want you to know that I trust you with my life. You're one of my very best friends. I also love Hinata a lot and I trust her with my life as well. I know that you and Hinata are close, and I'm telling you now, I'm not that comfortable with it. If I learn that. . ." Naruto couldn't bring himself to say out loud the suspicions that stay lay embedded in his mind. There was another man in Hinata's life, he knew it. Instead he said, "Forget about it. Let's go."

* * *

Hanabi was getting used to the acrid smell of vomit. She pulled herself up, flushed the toilet and walked over to the face basin where she washed her hands and rinsed out her mouth. She was getting used to that scent. That was never a good sign. She closed off the tap and stepped back to look at herself in the full length mirror on the side wall. It was a little after ten on a Wednesday morning and the light from the window came in soft, but hot. She removed her tunic and rolled up her tank top as she activated her Byakugan. In the distance of the geisha quarters she could see Nayako talking to Hinata, her sister's face looking grim. She brought her main focus back onto herself. She would have to re-bandage her stomach and arms soon. The sores were getting worse and the medicine that she rubbed on them seemed to be ineffective. Her legs had them too, though not as bad as her stomach, back and arms. She could only thank the Heavens that none had come out on her face. Her eyes were sunken in and she moved in closer to examine her teeth. She was worried about the effect the bile would have on her teeth. She didn't have much time. She needed to get back to Konoha and see the Hokage as soon as possible. The pain had started to make simple tasks unbearable despite the brave front she had up. She turned off her Byakugan and looked at herself through normal vision. She still looked a mess. Sasuke had better show up soon or else she'd be forced to abandon her plan. But she couldn't. She couldn't, not when the payment for all her hard work and patience was so steep. She pulled down her tank top and was about to put back on her tunic when a voice made her jump, unconsciously activating her Byakugan.

"There's a specific tea that would help. I know it helped me when I went through that."

With her Byakugan on or off, Hanabi would know Nayako's voice anywhere. She turned off her Byakugan before she turned around, finishing putting on her tunic.

"What are you doing here in the maids' bathrooms?" Hanabi asked her, not bothering to sound politely inquiring but instead coming across as suspiciously rude.

"I used to be in here a lot before my geisha training started. Come with me, I'll make you some tea."

Nayako turned abruptly, sure that Hanabi would follow. Hanabi did follow, annoyed that she gave Nayako the satisfaction but she was in too much pain. She was open to any suggestion. She activated her henge, pain spiking through her eyes, legs, and back as she did something simple as walking at a slow pace.

The kitchens were surprisingly quiet and Hanabi suspected that Nayako's mere presence ran the maids into doing some other job; any other job. Nayako was busy pouring hot water into a teapot, then carefully pouring it out into a delicate teacup. Hanabi rolled her eyes, a warm sensation hugged them, as she wondered if everything for geisha was always so over-the-top. It was just tea for crying out loud!

"I was just talking to Hinata. I left her training. She's training very fiercely. Something must be on her mind. Anyway, I used to drink this tea when I started getting those symptoms, though my symptoms came faster and more furiously than yours. My brother used to make it for –"

"What do you mean 'your symptoms'?"

Nayako looked up at her and smiled. Unlike Hinata, Hanabi had yet to decipher all of Nayako's smiles, so she took the current one's meaning at face value – slightly understanding and apologetic.

"My father was a ninja. My mother was a civilian. When he came to Kumo he fell in love with her instantly."

"He wasn't from Kumo?"

"No, he was from Konoha."

Hanabi gave her a small smirk as she replied, "Reminds me of some people that I know."

"Yes, quite. Drink up." Nayako said as she handed Hanabi a small cup of tea. Hanabi had been distracted and had not noticed what kind of tea it was. It was black and frothy.

"What kind of tea is this?"

"It's an herbal mixture. It has oolong, Karailli leaves, orange peel, fever grass, powdered snake skin and other foul things that no one wants to hear is in their tea. But it works." She poured some of it into another teacup and sipped it. She screwed up her face in disgust. "Tastes awful, but it works."

It looked like coffee. It tasted the way cat piss smelled. Hanabi fronted and tried her best not to gag, something that she had gotten used to doing.

"They were apart a great deal of the time." Nayako continued, "My mother loved Kumo too much to leave and my father was still an active ninja and so he was in Konoha a lot of the time. My mother would sometimes visit, or Father would stay here when he was not directly needed. She didn't mind. Being a civilian means living a catch-ass sort of life. She was happy to marry a ninja – he had more social standing. Only ninja, geisha, very rich businessmen and nobles have any sort of life in this world, as you know.

"Anyway, I would tag along with her when she visited whenever I could be spared from the academy. My brother was already a Chuunin for Kumo, so he was regularly occupied here. But I was there with her when my father was killed the day the Nine Tailed Fox attacked. I was there when my mother was killed. I tried to protect her, but getting hit with that amount of chakra and that type of chakra, put me out of commission for a while. Well, not for a while, but forever. It damaged my chakra system to such an extent that my ninjutsu days were over before they really began."

Hanabi sipped her disgusting tasting tea and looked at Nayako over the edge of the teacup, trying to gauge her emotions. She didn't seem too affected, but then Hanabi supposed that Nayako had a lot of time to come to terms with such a tragic event. She didn't know if she'd be able to easily turn to another profession as easily as Nayako did. Being a ninja was all that Hanabi knew and would ever want to know. Yes, it was true that her family also made their money from mining in addition to missions, but still... A pang of sympathy coursed through her heart. Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she casually lowered her teacup.

"Do you hate Konoha?"

"No, just that damned demon fox."

"Hmm. You've recovered well from that."

"I'm an opportunist and a survivor. I'm trying to teach that to Hinata. I suppose you are too. Right now you're body is attacking itself. The sores are there because your body is literally eating away at itself. It happened to a lot of nin that were affected by the Nine Tails attack so many years ago. That chakra is devastating. Your father must have built the seal to have a similar effect if someone other than himself broke it. But I suppose that your blood is close to his and that's why the effects have not been as sudden and as devastating as if, say, someone like me had tried to break Hinata's seal. Your father is a brilliant man. I would like to meet him someday."

Hanabi snapped her head up to fix Nayako a warning look.

"You have designs on my father? Because he would love to meet you as well to give you a firsthand account of how the Gentle Fist works."

Nayako only gave her an amused look and shook her head as she giggled. She sobered up quickly though and said, "Sasuke is Hinata's mizuage sponsor."

Hanabi nearly choked on her tea. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I didn't say anything for the same reason that you wouldn't have said anything to Hinata if you were me. You don't think that she's committed and ready to face him. I know that you planned on throwing her onto him with no warning whatsoever."

Hanabi eyed her. How did she know that?

"I know that because that's what I would have done. We both recognize that Hinata works better under pressure. I know that you were there the night the Ichimokari Teahouse was demolished. You saw what Hinata did to that ninja that tried to have his way with her. You heard what she did to Sasuke when he abducted her. I want her to have that same response and if I told her that Sasuke is going to be in that room with her, she'd act brave, but in the end she'd try to run. She doesn't see herself as a ninja. She sees herself as a geisha in an impossible situation. Don't you agree?"

Hanabi nodded. She hated that Nayako was right. She had already planned that as soon as she caught wind of Sasuke in Kumo she would not tell Hinata; rather choosing not to let her sister face him with prior knowledge that would cloud her mind with fear. However, right now she didn't care too much about how right Nayako was. Right now she wanted to know how she could have missed Sasuke's dealings with Nayako for this mizuage.

"That's because he hasn't been in Kumo as yet." Nayako explained. "He's been acting through another. Well, actually that's not true. He has been in Kumo to see her dance, but he's kept his distance. You might have missed him because you were too busy throwing up from the pain you're suffering through."

For the first time in a long time Hanabi blushed in shame. It was just a light dusting over her cheeks, but Nayako noticed it.

"Do not feel ashamed. You are ill. You're doing quite an admirable job of biting through that pain by the way. I had wanted to kill myself, but I was too weak to lift even a razor blade to slit my wrists. How are you feeling now?"

Hanabi downed the dregs and set the empty teacup on the wooden counter.

"Thank you. I do feel better. I don't know why you're helping me, but if you think that this will help you get in good with my father; then you're mistaken."

"I don't know what you're talking about. But you shouldn't worry about me. You should think about Hinata."

"I've been training her and as you so rightly said, she performs better when she thinks her life's under threat. She is a Hyuuga. She'll be fine."

"That's not what I meant."

Hanabi gave her a questioning eyebrow.

"I mean, wasn't Hinata your father's favourite? With enough training she will become the heir. I know that you've talked yourself into ignoring what I have to say on that subject, but the reality is that Hinata is doing very well in her training with you and someday she may even surpass you. She was and always will be your father's favourite. There is the possibility that she will be made heir and you will be demoted to the branch family. It's unfair, but that's the Hyuuga law, isn't it? You can't tell me that you've never considered it. Anyway, whenever you need some of the tea, just ask me."

Hanabi nodded stiffly and walked away from Nayako, loathe to admit that she did feel considerably better and that yes, the thought that Hinata could be made heir did still lurk around in her mind. She made her way to the geisha's quarters and jogged up the stairs wondering what was in that tea. She felt great! She opened the door to Hinata's room, since as Naruto was now back in Konoha, Nayako allowed Hinata to move back into her old room. She found Hinata dressed in a blue and silver grey kimono, with a purple obi. She needed to train in her usual kimonos in order to gain the experience of being in a battle with such cumbersome attachments. She knew that her sister had written to Gaara and asked him casually how he dealt with having that large and heavy gourd strapped to his back. Her Byakugan was activated, her lips set in a grim and fixed line of determination and annoyance. She was hitting the practice dummy with a lot of force and precision.

"Why don't you come at me?" Hanabi asked her. Hinata did not turn around but was surprised that Hanabi had offered since of late, Hanabi more instructed her, but rarely if ever trained her hands on.

"Hmm, Hanabi-chan you must be feeling better?"

"A bit." Hanabi replied, though she knew that the tea only affected her brain's view on the pain. The sores were still there. But she doubted that Hinata could actually land a hit on her. "Here's what. I'll make it interesting and I won't turn on my Byakugan. Sasuke doesn't have a Byakugan."

Hinata nodded and launched at Hanabi.

Hinata's attacks were forceful and consistently so. Still, she couldn't land a hit on Hanabi. Her sister would simply slap away her hand, blocking any potential hits.

"Come on, sister. I don't even have the Sharingan and I can see your next move. You might as well mail it to me a month in advance!"

Hanabi smirked when she saw Hinata speed up her movements, but still she was too slow and Hanabi said as much.

"Good lord, you're slow!" Hanabi said as she dodged a hit aimed at her liver, heart and jugular in quick succession. But she was unprepared for Hinata's next move. Hinata pulled from her sleeves a fan and threw it in the air. Hanabi was forced to break her main focus on Hinata for a second to take note of the position of the fan and estimate where it would fall. She saw Hinata unfurl the long sleeves that she had wrapped around her arms and she braced for Hinata's hand to come darting out of the folds of the sleeves and her sister did exactly that. But the fan fell between them, momentarily distracting her. She dodged her sister's hands that darted out like an unpredictable snake in a whirl of fabric. But her hands and the fabric were only distractions and in that one moment Hinata kicked her sister in the stomach sending her skating back a few feet, dislodging the henge that she still used. She should have used her Byakugan.

"Hanabi-chan! Are you alright?" Hinata squealed and ran to her sister. Hanabi pulled Hinata by the arm and hit her hard in the chest. The lash purposely avoided her lungs and heart, but did nick one of the bones in her rib cage. Hinata went flying and hit the wall on the other side of the room hard.

"That was a very good move - distraction on multiple levels. I wasn't expecting a kick from you. Very good attempt. But you're too soft. You should have come over to deliver a finishing blow and not underestimate me. Get up." Hanabi said bravely but really she was in a lot of pain. Hinata's kick did not hurt as much since her sister was still trying to get used to building up chakra in her feet, but the physical kick hurt the sores on her stomach and she could feel blood seeping through the bandages. But the pain was faint compared to how it was earlier thanks to the tea that Nayako gave her. Before she would have had to rush to the toilet to throw up and try her best not to pass out on the tiled floor. She wondered how long it would last. She wondered how long she would last when she had to face Sasuke.

She saw Hinata get up, her face still grim, breathing hard.

"Are you alright, sister?" She asked with furrowed brows. She didn't like the look on Hinata's face.

"I...I..." She looked like she was struggling not to cry. "I...I don't want to do this, Hanabi."

"What? Fight me?"

"No, my mizuage."

Hanabi shrugged. "It's geisha tradition, no?"

Hinata snapped up her head to fix a gaze on her. Her Byakugan was still activated. Hanabi thought that she looked like an incredibly attractive demon with her eyes shining white and her extravagant clothes. At least she didn't have on the white make-up, Hanabi thought cynically.

"Tradition? Some things are not fair."

"The law isn't fair either. It's legal or illegal, right or wrong, but it's the law."

"Some laws are changed, Hanabi-chan."

"The rites of tradition are there for a reason. It wasn't thought up just for the heck of it."

"Oh, so the Caged Bird seal is there for a good reason, other than keeping the branch members in subdued fear and submission?"

"It was because of that seal that our father is alive today and that Kumo does not have our eyes. It is there for a reason! It is Hyuuga law and tradition and we must follow it, otherwise anarchy would reign. Do not speak of things that you have no idea of!"

"And would you accept Hyuuga law if I am made heir?" Hanabi's eyes bulged in surprise, then narrowed. Oh, so that's what Nayako had been speaking to Hinata about, Hanabi sourly thought.

"What do you mean by that?" She tried for an even tone.

"Or will you eliminate me, tradition be damned? That won't be fair if you've done all the hard work but I'm still made heir, no? But it will be right. It's tradition. I am the eldest."

Absolute rage bubbled inside of Hanabi and she rushed toward her sister slapping her hard. Luckily she did not use Gentle Fist or her sister would have been dead. She did draw blood however, as she saw her sister get up and wipe blood from the side of her mouth.

"I have no interest in your position of heir, Hanabi-chan. But why exactly are you doing this? Are you planning on throwing me to Sasuke, let him eliminate me after I have incapacitated him and then you can get rid of me? Two birds with one stone?" Again she wiped the side of her mouth that was cut; a bit of blood glistened on her pale thumb that she showed to her sister. "You want it this badly?"

Hanabi breathed out hard. She wanted to say that she was sorry but she had never apologized to anyone in her life other than her father. The words came right up to her throat and stuck there as if someone forcibly pushed them back down with a heavy handed fist. Instead, she said,

"You're the same one that told me not to let Nayako get inside my head. Follow your own advice." She walked off.

Hinata didn't say anything; she knew Hanabi was right. Nayako was inside her head, but why she was trying to convince her that Hanabi would try to get rid of her was not quite clear to Hinata. She collapsed on the ground, but no tears came out of her eyes. She had to stay in this livelihood in order to carry out the plan. She was doing this for Naruto. But if she went through with her mizuage, wouldn't she lose him anyway? She never thought that she'd be wishing that Sasuke would just show up soon. Her mind reverted to the man that had tried to rape her. She hadn't known it then but she had nearly killed that man and she wasn't even trying then. She didn't like to think about that, but she supposed that if push came to shove, she would do what was necessary and face the consequences later.

* * *

The day of Hinata's mizuage came up all too soon. She hadn't seen Hanabi in three days and she understood why, but to be honest, Hinata didn't feel like seeing her anyway. Hanabi had no sympathy for her situation whatsoever. It wasn't just Nayako's words speaking through her sister. Hinata knew that Hanabi had a definite sense of right and wrong and she respected the importance of tradition. She was a true Hyuuga. Hinata sighed. She couldn't see herself in Konoha living the life of a Hyuuga if that was the case. She simply did not belong there. The only tie she had to Konoha was Naruto and if that was the case, couldn't he come visit her over here?

"I haven't seen in her a while, either." Nayako replied to Hinata's unasked question as she applied Hinata's make-up. Hinata noticed that Nayako didn't look too broken up about it, though.

"I hope that she's alright. I insinuated some things that I really..."

"She'll be fine." Nayako said dismissively. "But don't be nervous. I had the same experience as you. It's not as bad as you think. He'll be so excited that he'll finish in less than a minute. There'll be a burst of pain –"

"Pain?" Hinata said alarmed. "If there's pain then why do people want to do that all the time?"

Nayako laughed. "Yes, there will be pain. It'll feel like he's trying to rip you in half, and you'll bleed a bit, but it'll all be over before you realize that's what happened. And people want to do that all the time because after the pain, it's get better...a lot better...sometimes."

"I don't want to do this."

"Because of Naruto?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe. When I was eight years old, something happened to me that left me in a near-death situation. I was in a lot of pain and I couldn't move. A boy came to help me. He had silver hair and he wore a black mask that covered most of his face. He used to visit me when I was in the hospital. We never once spoke to each other, but we had an understanding. During my mizuage I always thought of that person, wishing and hoping that by some miracle he would save me from that. I never saw him again though, but I survived my mizuage. You can't live in a fantasy world, Hinata. Whether you are a geisha or a ninja, there will be things that you don't like to do or want to do, but you have to do it. Well, the consequences for disobedience as a ninja may be even worse. As a geisha you may lose your reputation, as a ninja, you may lose your life."

Hinata didn't respond.

"Let me ask you a question. Do you like entertaining? Do you like your lifestyle?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you like training as a ninja? Keep in mind that you may have to do on a regular basis things like what you did to that ninja that tried to have his way with you."

Hinata did not answer her.

"Have you made up your mind? Are you going to become a ninja for Konoha or are you going to stay a geisha? Do you think that you can handle the Hyuuga way of life? Do you think that Naruto can support you on a Genin salary? He has a little more social standing than the average civilian, but he's still poor. I know you like to dance and after this you'll be in a position to command your own customers. Your mizuage is just a small price to pay for you to lead a life where you'll have respect, fame and status and eventual independence. You might not have as much freedom as a Hyuuga ninja in Konoha. Your missions are chosen for you. And you also have to contend with Hyuuga law. Plus. . . you'll be leaving me."

Hinata looked at Nayako who was busy painting Hinata's lips with an intensity as strong as if she was disarming a bomb. She wanted to be angry at her, but she just couldn't and she hated herself for it. Nayako had taken care of her all of these years. She was hard to live with sometimes, but she was also her big sister for all these years. They quarrelled, but Hinata knew that if ever she was in trouble her sister would be there to protect her. She remembered all of the beatings that Nayako took in her place whenever Aunty of the okiya was upset with something Hinata had done. She remembered how Nayako had hugged her after the near rape incident. She remembered how Nayako had risked her life to protect her maiko at the border of Sound. How could she choose Hanabi over Nayako? Why should she have to choose?

"Have you made your choice?"

"No." Hinata mumbled. "Are you trying to come between Hanabi and me?"

"I didn't say anything that wasn't already in her head." Nayako dismissed the topic and segued instantly into another. "Are you hoping that Naruto will come rushing in here to save you? Or are you planning on killing that man yourself? It's been about two weeks and you haven't gotten a response from him."

"Naruto...I know that he'll come."

"And then what? He'll take you to Konoha? Your father will pay off your debts to the okiya? You'll tell Naruto why you were lying to him all this time? He won't forgive you because you have no trump card in the form of Sasuke. He won't say, 'Oh you did all those things because you were trying to help me bring back my best friend. All is forgiven.' You should wait for Sasuke to come to you. But in the meanwhile, remember that you are a geisha and you have that life to live. You are in too deep in both lives now. But just remember, I was the one that had originally told you to confess to Naruto."

"What if Sasuke never shows? What if I'm in a constant state of anxiety here waiting for him?"

"He'll show. You know that, don't you?"

Hinata did not answer her, but Nayako saw the answer in her eyes. She pulled back and looked at her maiko.

"I'll protect you no matter what, you know that right?"

"I know you will." Hinata smiled at her faintly and got a smile in return. She couldn't help but notice that it was a genuine smile.

"Come on, let's get you dressed." She called in the dresser and soon Hinata was adorned in a brilliantly black kimono and sunshine yellow obi with a red underrobe. Nayako was about to fetch Hinata's okobo herself when in walked Hanabi with the sandals. Hinata couldn't hide her surprise. Nayako couldn't hide her disappointment. Hinata walked over to the door where Hanabi stood on the threshold.

"I'm sorry."

Hanabi took a deep breath and muttered very lowly as she kept her eyes trained on the ground, "Me too."

"Hmm, all is forgiven I see." Nayako said and Hanabi fixed her a glare. Nayako smiled at her.

Hanabi placed the okobo on the ground just outside the door and Hinata stepped into them.

* * *

Shikamaru was tired. All he wanted was his bed. Or any bed for that matter. It was nearly eight o'clock and the Kumo nightlife was bubbling over like soup. Geisha were everywhere. He and his team had been keeping a brisk pace for almost two weeks now, barely resting. Temari had been in a bad mood from the moment she reached the Land of Lightning and the rains started and that meant that he was usually on the wrong end of that wrath. It had just stopped raining.

"Temari?"

"WHAT? Ugh. I don't think I'll ever get dry! I'll grow gills by the time I'm done here."

"Right. Look, I don't know about you, but Neji and I are hungry. We're going to stop at this teahouse here and get something to eat and then we'll start our search for Hinata. You coming?"

She grumbled something that he took as an assent, while he mumbled his usual words of 'troublesome', while Neji wished he was anywhere but here.

They walked to the Ichimokari teahouse where Shikarmaru and Neji entered without any fuss, but the mistress of the Teahouse barred Temari.

"No women unless geisha." The mistress said not realizing that she was about to find out how being in the middle of a tornado feels.

"WHAT!" Temari yelled. She was wet, cold, tired and hungry. Most of all, she was in a bad mood. Shikamaru and Neji quickly stepped back outside. Temari looked at Shikamaru. "You didn't know that that was a geisha teahouse?" She asked with an eyebrow quivering sceptically in the air.

"I swear I didn't know."

"Uh huh. All you men are the same. We are here on a mission and you want to look for geisha –"

"Troublesome woman, I swear that I didn't know!"

Neji tuned them out and followed the bickering pair unwillingly, mentally playing the game 'I would rather'. Right now he would rather eat rusty nails than be with these two. The three walked in search of food, Neji in search of ear plugs. They all missed when Hinata, Hanabi, Nayako and old-as-the-road Auntie walked into the Ichimokari Teahouse that was now behind them.

Hanabi didn't know what to say or do when she saw Neji, Shikamaru and Temari walking fifty yards ahead of them as they neared the Ichimokari teahouse. She activated her Byakugan under the henge and felt the pain shoot up her arm, past her neck and almost cripple her face with pain. There was no sign of her cousin activating his Byakugan, but surprisingly or not so much, she did spot Sasuke on a rooftop a couple of miles away. She quickly took off her Byakugan and swallowed hard to keep the vomit from coming back up. Hanabi could only hope that Hinata hit Sasuke good and hard because she was not sure she had it in her to fight even a small child, let alone Sasuke Uchiha. She tugged on Nayako's hand, ashamed that she had to beg but she was desperate. Nayako gave her a small smile.

"More tea? Don't worry. I'll have the mistress make some for you after the ceremony."

"How long is everything going to take? We don't have much time. There's another Hyuuga here." Hanabi whispered to her. She saw Nayako's face darken briefly, then the shadow was gone and she was back to her smiling self.

"Not long. Everything will go as planned." Nayako replied smiling. Hanabi nodded, but if Hinata had seen Nayako's smile she would have been able to warn Hanabi that Nayako was up to no good.

Hinata looked at the man that was supposed to be her mizuage patron. She remembered him. He was the man that spoke to her at Black Pool Square a little over two or three weeks ago. She remembered his too-black dyed hair. He was old. He had a wife. He had come to the teahouse every night and spoke to her while she did nothing more than nod and smile politely, every now and then offering him up sake or tea. She looked grim and set her gaze downwards to the table for fear that the sight of him made her throw up in his face. She nicknamed him Mr. Upset and Vomit because that's what she thought of him when she saw him now. Where the hell was Naruto, she wondered.

They were on the third level of the Ichimokari teahouse in one of the many private rooms. Hinata hadn't been up here since the incident of her near-rape. She shuddered that she should be here again in what she considered a similar but not quite, situation. She and Mr. Upset and Vomit drank sake in a ceremony that was meant to bond him to her as her mizuage sponsor. The ceremony took all of five minutes. Auntie and Nayako were smiling brilliantly. Hanabi looked like she was grinding her teeth in pain as she sat in a far corner and sipped on something. Mr. Upset and Vomit was grinning like an idiot. Hinata was considering throwing herself from the window. They got up and headed downstairs.

Afterwards, they left the teahouse and a kago was waiting outside for Hinata and Mr. Upset and Vomit. The dresser was also waiting there.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Hinata asked, panicked, to Nayako and Hanabi.

"No, child." Nayako answered her and then bent to whisper to her, "Take your time my dear; there'll be time for ménages à trois later." Hinata's features set in a rictus of annoyance. "I was just joking. Jeez. Anyway, the dresser will escort you and will stay in a room close by. As usual she," She nodded to Hanabi whose henge eyes looked intensely focussed, too focussed on some imaginary image in front of her, "will be about keeping an eye out for you. So, you'll never be really alone."

"And where will you be?"

"I will be there when you need me most." Nayako responded cryptically.

"But..." Hinata turned to look at Mr. Upset and Vomit, who was whistling loudly and still smiling like an idiot, "but...he's disgusting." Hinata whispered desperately to her geisha sister.

"I know, but stop being silly. Go on. And remember, you're still supposed to be blind."

Hinata nodded absently. She looked at Hanabi who was still focused on God alone knew what. It seemed her sister still had no sympathy for her. Again, Nayako's words crept up in her head, but she dismissed them. She got into the kago with the aid of the dresser. She sat on one end, the dresser was in the middle and Mr. Upset and Vomit was on another end. She stared listlessly out of the window. Where the hell was Naruto, she wondered again.

Nayako turned to Hanabi.

"Why aren't you moving, my dear?"

Hanabi's henge looked dazed and utterly confused as she tried to focus her eyes on Nayako. Nayako pulled her along like a ragdoll to the side of the teahouse into a dark alley. No one looked down the darkness of the alley because there was usually nothing there to be seen.

"I asked why you aren't moving."

Hanabi opened her mouth to speak and she reached as far as that, but her heavy tongue prevented her.

"I never liked this henge." Nayako said. As a full-fledged geiko, her sleeves were not as long as Hinata's, so she did not have to roll up much fabric in order to free her hand and hit Hanabi a hard cuff to her face. Hanabi fell backwards and hit her head hard on the ground as her body had not braced for the fall at all.

"Are you not moving because you are unable to?" Nayako asked as she stood over Hanabi. She could see Hanabi struggling to move. "Hmm, you're a fighter. You're fighting the tea that I gave you. But I know that you won't give up, so how about you take this to relax?"

There was no way for Hanabi to brace or block when Nayako's seven inch wooden okobo collided with her face.

* * *

The fact that she was now at the same inn that Naruto had brought her to at one point in time last year only hastened to make Hinata even sicker. She felt that at any moment now she would faint. At least she wasn't in the same room. Instead, they were in a larger room on the ground floor with a lovely garden that the Shogi doors opened onto. She could have cared less about it. The dresser took her into an adjoining room where he helped her out of her elaborate kimono and got her into a simpler, more casual off white kimono. The obi was a simple piece of red silk that was tied in a bow. It felt odd to be that underdressed. She was naked underneath; not even wearing tabi. In an effort to not feel so vulnerable, she slipped within her sleeves, the fan that Naruto had given her for her birthday one year. He removed all of her kanzashi and carefully undid her Wareshinobu hairstyle to let her hair fall past her waist. She washed off her makeup. He led her back into the room and Hinata made a concerted effort to avoid looking at the bed. Mr. Upset and Vomit was not there and she assumed that he was in the bathroom. A maid hurriedly brought in a tea set and left just as quickly. Hinata made the dresser open the shogi doors and she stood on the veranda looking out at the sky, hoping and praying that someone, anyone would come save her. Or she would have to save herself. She heard the dresser leave and she waited tensely, dreading the moment when Mr. Upset and Vomit would re-enter the bedroom. When she heard a door open, she still refused to turn around. She only turned around when someone called her name.

"Hinata."

When she saw him standing there she couldn't believe it. She stared at him blankly, not really seeing him, though she was looking right at him.

"Sasuke-san?" His name was a whisper.

He walked towards her and she wondered what to do. Her heart had sped up to an abnormal rate. She wanted to know where Hanabi could be, but she didn't dare let him know that her Byakugan was restored. _What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do_, she repeated until it was too late and he was standing directly in front of her and she had no plan.

Sasuke stared at her and was not surprised that he felt for her the same or rather, similar emotions that he experienced when he had last seen Itachi in Konoha – an equal parts mixture of love and hatred. The difference between the two experiences was that he suspected somewhere deep down he still loved Itachi as a brother. But with Hinata, he wasn't sure what he felt for her on that positive side. Was it love? Couldn't be. He didn't know her well enough. Was it lust? It wasn't that alone. He felt a deeper connection to her. Was it a platonic expression? His dreams told him otherwise. He wasn't sure about the positive emotions he felt towards her, but he knew that for the negative half of the emotions, he definitely hated her.

"You...w-w-w-w-w-w-w-what are you d-d-d-doing here?"

"Stop stuttering." He demanded.

Her lips formed a thin line of impenetrability, but it was too late. He already knew that she was terrified. Her eyes were so wide and white that he feared that they had their own gravitational pull and any moment now a tsunami would envelop them. The entire building was still and everything seemed very far from the small distance that was between them. He waited for her to speak. She said nothing knowing that whatever she might say may be turned into an opportunity for slaughter. In the end he spoke first.

"That man never wanted you." He answered her. He looked her up and down.

_But you do_, she asked in her mind. The realization that she was not ready for this almost crippled her – 'This' meaning a fight with Sasuke or whatever else he wanted from her. She stole a glance at the imposing bed.

"Are –" Her throat felt dry and she had to swallow before she spoke again. "Are you here to kill me?"

Suddenly he wasn't in front of her anymore. Rather, he had moved further inside of the room. Hinata looked up to notice that he was sitting on a tatami mat near the low table. What the hell happened? Can he really move that fast? Did he use his Sharingan on her?

"Come pour me some tea."

She did not move. She wanted to turn around and shield him from her use of her Byakugan, but she knew that it was dangerous to have her back to him. Clearly she was no match for him head on and she should not take him for granted. She would have to beguile him again. She stilled her heavy breathing. Naruto was coming, she reminded herself. Hanabi was watching out for her, waiting. Nayako would come to her aid. She took one shaky step toward him and had to force her other foot to move. Her steps were so unsure that she stumbled a bit. He simply looked on. She sat down at the other end of the small and round table. With trembling hands she poured him tea. Be still, she reminded herself. With a deep breath, she attempted conversation.

"W-what have you been up to, Sasuke-san?"

"Opera singing." He replied sarcastically.

She looked up at him. He looked back at her blankly. She briefly considered apologizing, but his lack of expression, of encouragement daunted her. Seeing him clearly for the first time she noted reluctantly that Hanabi was right, Sasuke was a very good-looking person.

Sasuke looked at her. He had a hard time wondering if her stumble earlier was an affectation. But as she poured him tea and the way that she looked at him, he could see a keener intelligence, keen enough to make him extremely uncomfortable.

"I don't trust you." He told her. She didn't bother to reply. She was sure he knew that she didn't exactly feel relaxed around him. They said nothing for a while, but she was the one to speak first after their silence.

"Do you hate Naruto? Why are you here for my mizuage?"

"I thought that I explained that to you. I don't hate Naruto. I don't have any feelings toward Naruto. I used to hate only Itachi, but my list has been growing and it now includes you." He didn't feel like elaborating on the other feelings he had for her. Only Itachi and Naruto had ever elicited such complicated emotions from him.

"I didn't...I..." She wasn't sure what she was going to say.

"I underestimated you. When did Hanabi break your seal?"

"Hanabi?"

"Don't lie to me!" He didn't shout, rather his words were low and menacing. In his aggravation he flung the teacup onto the floor and it shattered from his force, causing Hinata to flinch. "There are things I won't take not even from you."

_Not even from me_. She wondered just how much sway he would allow her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're trying my patience. I saw her leave your room after that incident at the Ichimokari Teahouse. I know that she's here in Kumo. What's the plan? Are you supposed to deliver the first surprise blow to throw me off guard and then she'd come in to finish me off?"

"I would never try to do such thing. I caught you off guard once. I don't think it'll work again."

He scoffed.

"You've gotten more confidence. A few months ago and you would never have brought up what happened between us. Quiet confidence suits you. Don't get like your sister, Hanabi, however. She's too arrogant."

"Please forgive me, but I don't know who or what you're speaking of."

"You're really trying my patience."

"I never meant to upset you. I beg your indulgence. Please forgive me of my ignorance."

"You want me to try to hit you, don't you? You want me to let my guard down and come close to you. You are no match for me Hinata. What happened between us...it was a lesson learnt. You see, I learnt a lesson with Naruto. I got too close to him and my focus on my goal suffered. Luckily, Orochimaru helped me refocus on my objectives. You however. . . I never expected you to affect me the way you did. What happened between us showed me how much of a distraction you are. Tonight should serve as a test of sorts for myself."

"Are you telling me that you see friendship and love as distractions in life?" She said it and immediately regretted it. She didn't know why she always got into these debates with him.

"Are they not?"

"I humbly disagree, Sasuke-san. The difference can be seen in that age old quote: are you eating to live or are you living to eat? You can simply exist. You can talk to people and have words coming out of your mouth with a basic dictionary sense meaning of the words. Or you can have someone that can be silent with you in your moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with you in an hour of grief and bereavement and who will tolerate you in the reality of your powerlessness. Love and hatred are polar opposites. But I suppose you cannot know one without knowing the other."

He said nothing for a long while and Hinata braced herself for some sort of lash out. After an eternity, he said,

"I understand what you are saying. You and Naruto have helped me to understand that. But I have a choice to make. There's a law that says that any occurrence requiring unyielding attention will inevitably be accompanied by a compelling distraction. I cannot be distracted. You once told me that you understood the darkness in my heart. Were you lying to me then?"

"No,"

"I cared for you." He said unexpectedly. She looked up at him. His face was blank. She didn't know what emotion or expression she thought she was going to see. He already gave away so much in that one line.

"It's not enough to say that, Sasuke-san," she said quietly. "I…care for you too –"

"No you don't."

"I do, I did, I– It's not enough for you to say those words when you don't show them to me. Your words are empty."

"I feel empty."

Another unexpected confession, though, this time he looked as if he was not planning on letting that slip. Guilt and pity swelled inside of her.

"I . . . I'm sorry. I said that I know what you felt, made you trust me, then I took advantage of you. I'm sorry."

"You are so stupid sometimes it makes me wonder whether you're doing it on purpose."

"What?"

"What do you think apologizing to me is going to achieve?"

"I don't –"

"You should stick to being a geisha. You'd make a horrible ninja."

"I stabbed you, didn't I?" She muttered, but he heard her and snorted. Her head snapped up to look at him. He was wearing a very, very faint smirk.

"I was onto your every play, Hinata, but I just wanted you."

She lowered her head again thinking that getting stabbed in the neck was a hefty price to pay for a kiss. She had no idea that he was thinking the same thing as well.

He looked at her. She had on a faint sullen pout after what he had said to her. She had no idea of the predicament that he was in because of her. She had no idea of the effect she had on him, how she made him disarmingly, almost touchingly open. Sasuke knew that Naruto was a distraction as well, but he got over that quickly. For Sasuke, the difference between Naruto and Hinata lay in the fact that he was not attracted to Naruto in any sexual way. Naruto was a friend, but now he was simply a vague and dusty memory. He wanted Hinata to become like that.

He hadn't seen her in months and he told himself that he was above and beyond her effect. For the first couple of months after the incident when he couldn't talk and couldn't train as his hand and neck healed, he hated her. Orochimaru and Kabuto asked him how he managed to be stabbed in the neck and hand, but he gave them no answers. He could have told them, but even in hatred he wanted her for himself. If anyone were to kill her, it should be him.

But after his throat and hand healed and when the anger within him boiled down to a low simmer, he realized something. She had taught him a lesson. Never before had any woman had that effect on him. He at first blamed it on puberty, but he knew that that wasn't it alone or else he would have been going crazy over Sakura and Ino and Karin or anyone in a skirt. Because of her shyness she spoke in low tones, with her head bowed resulting in her audience being forced to draw nearer to her. All her conversations thus, seemed more conspiratorial and intimate. That was how she physically drew him in. But on another level she drew him out. Every time he saw her he gave away a little more of himself, and tonight was no different. He hoped that tonight would be different, that he was stronger and above her fascination, because Lord knew that he would have to be insane to ever her let her recapture him.

"Why don't you dance for me?"

"There's no music with which to dance."

"That doesn't bother me."

She considered him for a moment before she submitted to his wishes. She got up and walked a bit away from him. She searched her mind for the shortest, dullest routine she knew and quickly remembered the scene from the play, The Lover's Meet Again. There was a very simple dance in there that lasted all of five minutes. She didn't want to dance for him as dancing required a lot of her focus that she couldn't afford to give at the moment. She fixed her stance and only realized exactly how _no_t dull the dance would be due to her attire. The first step began with her right leg extending forward and brushing across the floor, stretching her instep and making a wide arc away from her body, a move that made her usual silk brocade kimonos flutter at the edges. But tonight, with her fluid silk, lightweight kimono, her movement made her kimono fall away at the sides and left her bare stretched forward leg, curvy and fair, exposed to him.

He didn't move, he didn't blink, he didn't react, he didn't want to miss anything. The walls may have bent, but he didn't.

She held his gaze and turned, in that instant activating her Byakugan. She saw his internal organs, his skeleton, blood swimming through his veins, his teeth through his clenched mouth, eyes rolling around in their sockets, his arousal...but she saw no Hanabi and panic flooded her, even more so when she saw him move. He was quick, but with her Byakugan allowing her to see from every angle, it was like seeing him walk towards her boldly. He was fast, but she was prepared and when his sword came crashing down to her neck she blocked just in time with the steel-edged fan that Naruto had given her almost a year and a half ago.

For a brief moment, nothing was said and no one dared move. He was behind her with his sword poised tragically at her neck. She was as stiff as a day old corpse with the fan resting on her shoulder, given the impossible task of preventing her beheading.

"I really hate it when you lie to me." He whispered in her ear.

He was stronger than her and he spun her and pushed her against the wall. He was up underneath her before she had time to react. With one hand he pinned hers above her head so that she couldn't slap him. He jammed his knee in between her legs so that she wouldn't be able to kick him. He pressed his body flush against hers so that she wouldn't be able to push forward. He looked down at her as he was now close enough to breathe her breath. His nose touched hers.

Hinata was overwhelmed with fear. Her heart was in her throat blocking her air passages and she could hardly breathe because of it. Or it could be due to the fact that he was crushing her with his full weight pressed against her. Sweat broke out on her face, her lower lip trembled. It took everything within her not to pass out cold from fear. How could Hanabi leave her in a position like this? Now would be an excellent time for Hanabi to make an appearance, she thought. But her Byakugan was still activated and she could not see Hanabi through the walls. All she saw were the other tenants, the dresser in the adjoining room reading a book and the maids moving silently like mice in the walls. She was desperate. She threw caution to the wind and opened her mouth to scream. He seized her mouth with his.

Again he kissed her like it was the end of the world. When he pulled away both their lips were swollen red. He looked at her and said,

"You scream and I bite your tongue off."

She believed him. He said he cared for her. She never knew romance to be so violent. He didn't care for her. He wanted her because he couldn't have her. She thought about defying him, but the look he gave her made her decide against it. Still she struggled. He re-sheathed his sword, raised his right hand so that with both hands he increased the pressure on her wrists until the fan fell out of her hands. Tears slid down her face. She closed her eyes but she could still see him. He gently kissed the tears on her face. He kissed her neck, ironically in the same spot where she had stabbed him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, though I want to. I really want to shove this sword through your neck the way you did to me. I wouldn't have hurt you, you know. There was no need for you to stab me. I wasn't going to hurt you. But I want you to know that because of what you did, I have no patience, no sympathy for your sex. You helped me realize that I should not let a woman come between me and my goals. And the next woman that comes between me and my way, I'll stab her to get to what I want. Thank you for setting my priorities straight."

Anger welled up inside of her at the futility of the situation. She was angry at Hanabi, at him and most of all she was angry at herself. She thought of Naruto. Still she kept hope alive that he would rescue her and all would be right. She would tell him everything. But right now she was angry for listening to everyone else but herself and the only person she could unleash her anger on was the person standing directly in front of her.

"I...I...want you to know Sasuke-san that what happened between us has affected me too. It made me realize that I'm a lot stronger than I think. I was thinking of Naruto when I stabbed you. It is him who stirred in me the desire to do something great with my life, the refusal to allow myself to be grounded by mediocrity, the courage to commit myself to improvement. It was because of him that I was doing all of this. He is an amazing person, but I feel so sorry for him that he is wasting his time on someone like you. I used to feel sorry for you, even to the point that I identified with your pain. I cared for you too. Really I did. I cared too much. But now I realize that there is no helping you. You have lost your family and I feel for you. But you had a chance and you squandered it. You will never have a friend and you will never have a lover. I think I don't even feel sorry for you anymore. I feel nothing for you."

She was so angry that she head-butted him, hard. His grip on her hand only slightly slackened and she tried to wriggle free, but it wasn't enough. In his rage he almost brought his sword down on her. But he held back and instead he moved away from her and in one fluid movement he flung her halfway across the room. She saw the broken porcelain shards on the ground, but her momentum refused to let her avoid it and she mashed down on them painfully with her right foot. She stumbled and fell back onto the bed and cried out in pain.

He approached her and she edged further back up onto the bed, ignoring the pain in her foot.

He gripped his hair in his hand in an act of frustration. "Why?! Why can't you just leave me be?!"

She didn't know what to say. For one brief moment she felt sorry for him. She knew what it was like to feel consumed by someone. It was agony.

Suddenly she stopped as her eyes opened even wider, if that was possible, at the sight of the nin stealthily approaching the inn. He couldn't see it like the way she saw it, but he sensed it. Ignoring her completely, he turned and walked over to the open Shogi doors that led to the garden. He turned to look at her on the bed. Her kimono was ruffled, slipping away and falling provocatively on her shoulders. It had splayed open exposing her thighs to him. Her face was white as the sheets with fright and he hoped that he was not still tethered to her lustful nonattainability, but he knew he still wanted her. He turned again, simultaneously hoping and dreading that tonight was not the last night that he saw her.

After he left, Hinata remained still, unsure of whether she really escaped with her life. The adrenaline in her was still coursing through her veins and she trembled noticeably. She had to get up and go away from here. She released her Byakugan, suddenly feeling drained; realizing the pull it was having on her chakra. She wanted to keep it up if only to know whether Sasuke had clashed with the nin that were approaching, but she was too tired. She looked down at her foot. The broken porcelain was lodged very far up her foot. She took a deep breath and pulled it out. The scream she emitted was bone chilling and it sent the dresser running to her door. He knocked politely.

"Is everything all right?" He asked quietly in case Hinata was simply being melodramatic to her sponsor's affections.

She was in so much pain that she forgot to activate her Byakugan. She simply bawled again for him to enter.

When the dresser ran in he was appalled.

"What the hell happened?" He said as he ran quickly to the bathroom and came back with a towel to wrap her foot in it. While she applied pressure to the wound he cleaned up the broken pieces of the teacup lest there be another accident. He disappeared for a moment in the bathroom and returned with bandages that he haphazardly wrapped her foot with.

"Is that better?"

"Never mind that. We have to get away from here, now."

"What? Why? What's going on? What happened? Where is your sponsor?"

A sudden burst of light outside made them turn their heads as they heard commotion in the distance.

"Was that a fireball?" The dresser asked.

Sasuke-san, Hinata thought. "We have to get back to the okiya. I need to find Nayako. She needs to know that it was really Sasuke Uchiha who was my mizuage sponsor. "

"Sasuke Uchiha? Okay, I'll get a kago for us. Wait here for a moment." He ducked into the adjoining room and she looked at his retreating form quizzically. When he came back he had in his hands a pair of tabi. "Wear these. You can't go out in public with bare feet." He said all the while pulling up her kimono so that she could be better covered.

Hinata rolled her eyes in exasperation. She could bleed to death and all he cared about was decorum. He left directly after that to go organize their kago.

He left and she sank into the bed and put on her tabi. Her mind was reeling. Was she safe? Will Sasuke-san return for her? Did he really not want to hurt her? He looked so conflicted. And those nin! Would he be alright? Why should she care, she reminded herself. Her head was pounding. Suddenly the door was opened and she looked up expecting the dresser. Instead, in stepped Naruto, followed by Gaara.

"Naruto! Kazekage-sama!"

"Hinata! Am I too. . ." Naruto said excitedly. Then his jaw slackened and even his eyebrows sunk in disappointment as he took in her dishevelled appearance. His eyes drifted to the bed with the blood stained on the sheets and he felt his heart stop. ". . . late?" He finished his sentence.

Suddenly in burst Nayako, who in her anxiety appeared to not have seen Naruto and Gaara in the room as she ran to Hinata, so she had no cover for her mouth when she said,

"Hinata! Are you okay? I just ran into the dresser and he said that Sasuke was here? Where's Hanabi?"

Hinata's eyes bulged at she looked over to Naruto and Gaara. Nayako turned her head to see what her maiko was looking at.

"Oh, Naruto, Kazekage-sama" Nayako said, "I didn't see you standing there."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N:** Beta'd by – **Ookami88**. Thanks beta! :D

Note: Konban wa – good evening.

'_The road to hell is paved with good intentions'_

* * *

Hanabi awoke to pain. She felt it before she opened her eyes and saw it. There was an ache in her jaw and cheekbone which her Byakugan told her was due to the collision of her face with Nayako's okobo. The kick to her face had created a huge gash running from her forehead all the way to the right side of her jaw, fracturing her right cheekbone and leaving a back tooth shaky. But that was the least of her problems for it seemed that she had also shattered her left kneecap, fractured her left hipbone and dislocated her left shoulder. Oh, and she also broke two fingers – thumb and pinkie – on her right hand, in addition to the numerous sores, cuts and bruises about her body. The ground was soft where she was lying; soft and spongy as if rain had fallen not too long ago. There were some broken twigs and general underbrush that was beneath, between, above and around her. The air buzzed with eerie sounds and cries. Her brain was muddled from the pain, but it didn't take Hanabi long to realize that Nayako had thrown her off a precipice.

She scanned her environs. She knew that the Kumo forests spanned over half a million square miles and she could be anywhere within that. Besides her own injuries, she was up against wild beasts, snakes, vicious fish, poisonous arachnids, dehydration and disease.

She had to get up, but she couldn't. Her body simply was not following her commands and for the first time in a long time she panicked. She closed her eyes briefly and was surprised when tears leaked over onto her face mixing with the blood and dirt. She opened her eyes quickly enough, fearful that she might not open them again because of her dire physical condition. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to sit up, having to put all of her effort and body weight onto her right side. It took her nearly six seconds to sit up and by the time she was finished she was sweating rivulets and blowing hard. She wanted to throw up again. She scanned her environs unconsciously. There were too many steep hills. There was no way she was going to make it out of here, at least not alive. She squeezed shut her eyes again as she attempted to bite down on her pain. She couldn't and she turned abruptly to the side (the twisting sending shooting cramps of pain through her entire left side) and vomited. When she opened her eyes again after she threw up, she whispered,

"Daddy." She surprised herself, ignoring the pain running up her face. She hadn't called her father 'Daddy' since she was a baby probably. She lay back down on the ground. She was in serious trouble and she knew it.

* * *

Shikamaru, Temari and Neji could hardly believe their eyes when they saw Sasuke battling ninjas in the middle of Kumo. Though their little group had no leader, per se, both Temari and Neji looked to Shikamaru to gauge how they should treat with Sasuke's presence.

Shikamaru knew that out of a sense of duty to Konoha, he should really try to re-capture Sasuke. But this was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission. He wondered whether Orochimaru was here as well, his mind remembering the Sasuke retrieval mission and the disaster that that was. He had no intention of putting someone like Temari, a resident of Suna with no ties to Konoha or Sasuke, into a fray like that. Though, he knew that if he had said that aloud, Temari would have his neck mistaking his concern for her as him doubting her abilities. If Jiraiya-sama was right and Sasuke really was mixed up somehow with Hinata, then she was in danger and it was only right that they protect her at all costs. Yet, he knew that as Naruto's friend he had an obligation to ensure that he at least tried to bring back Sasuke. Shikamaru made up his mind.

"Neji, you locate Hinata and make sure she's safe. Temari and I will hold off the nin from Sasuke and then attempt to incapacitate him and bring him back to Konoha."

Temari nodded, though he could tell that she thought Sasuke was a lost cause. He thought so too, but he owed it to Naruto, as a friend. If it was Chouji, he would have wanted him brought back alive. Neji nodded and disappeared in a flash. Temari unhooked her fan from her back.

"Look alive, Nara. It's go time."

* * *

_Did she just say Sasuke_? The thought circulated in Naruto's head but he appeased his suspicions with relative logic. She had to have meant another Sasuke. Granted in all his life he had never met another person with that name, but surely it was not so unique that only one person in the entire world had it. And besides, there was no way that Sasuke would have any time or interest for geisha. Such women would probably drive him insane with their submissiveness and extravagance. Still...he had to ask. He looked at Nayako.

"Sasuke?"

"Yes, Sasuke Uchiha." She replied in a crisp, clear voice as if she were answering to the Raikage.

Hinata looked at Nayako and honestly she wanted to shove her fist down Nayako's throat, but sighed resignedly knowing that the moment had arrived. From the look of bewilderment and then embarrassment on his face, she could see Naruto making incorrect conclusions in his head as he looked at the bed with its ruffled sheets stained with blood. His face was red. There was a dull throb of blood coursing through Hinata's head which she was unsure was due to her earlier use of the Byakugan or because of the prolonged stress. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as if she were underwater. She blinked and everything was still blurry. She heard a distant cry, followed by a distant explosion, a mosquito buzzed loudly near her ear and she saw Nayako slowly, very slowly smoothing non-existent creases in her kimono. All of this happened as if she were a mere spectator looking in on a performance being undertaken in a slow globe. In the end, she took a deep breath and steadily, she found her voice.

"Nayako-san, please give Naruto and me a moment."

Nayako nodded stiffly without taking her eyes off of Naruto. Then she moved forward, her kimono brushing Hinata's feet dismissively as if to say that she should have moved out of the way to let Queen Nayako through. She closed the door behind her gently and it was as if Naruto was reawakened.

"What the hell is going on here!"

Hinata's eyes darted quickly to Gaara. She wanted him to leave as well and he seemed to have gotten her silent message. Naruto looked between Gaara and Hinata and a spite of jealousy rose up within him like a burning heat. He watched Gaara move outside. He turned his attention back to Hinata who was looking small and fragile, yet incredibly beautiful.

"Hinata," His voice was calmer now, but there was a hint of outrage hiding under the surface. "What's going on? What is Nayako talking about with Sasuke? Did...did you..." He made a funny gesticulation with his head and hands that somehow encompassed a lot of meaning, "...with Sasuke? Does she mean my Sasuke?"

"He didn't touch me. I cut my foot. See –"

But he wasn't really hearing her. He threw up his hands in the air in frustration and despondency as he noticed that she had not denied Nayako's claim.

"Sasuke? He's your mizuage sponsor? You didn't know that, did you? How? When? Why?" He sputtered out question after question.

"I've known him for some time now, actually." She said softly.

Naruto froze. He wasn't moving much before, but it was only when he completely stilled that she realized he had been vibrating with annoyance and confusion like a plucked shamisen string.

"What...what do you mean?"

"I met Sasuke-san the same night that I first met you."

He stared at her.

"But I didn't know who he was to you and he didn't know who I was to you. He didn't know that you were connected to me at all. . .until the incident at the Ichimokari Teahouse."

"Oh no. He's the one that really killed that ninja that night, isn't he? He's the one that's been sending you gifts, isn't he? He's the one that's been consuming half your mind. He's the other man in your life, isn't he?"

"Don't! Don't make it sound like that."

"Like how? Like the truth?"

"It wasn't like that. The night of the incident I think...I think..." She stopped and took a deep breath. Naruto looked at her patiently waiting for an answer. "The night of the incident at the teahouse, I was entertaining Sasuke-san. I didn't know who he was to you. But he saved me from that rapist and all he asked was that I not say that he was here. Naruto, he saved my life, I had to respect his wishes. I would have done so for anyone that had made that request. I didn't say anything because of him. It was out of gratitude to him. I didn't even know of his relation to you."

"Okay, I'm having a bit of a hard time processing all of this. Are you trying to tell me that Sasuke was frequenting at geisha teahouse? That's not the Sasuke that I know."

"You don't know him as much as you would like to think."

"Oh and I suppose that you do?"

She coloured as she had walked directly into that one.

"So when did you find out that he was _the_ Sasuke Uchiha?"

"When he abducted me on the edge of Sound."

"That was _him_? You said that you stabbed a man and left him for dead. Was that him?"

"Naruto," The moment had arrived. "I...thought that he was going to kill me. I had to get out of there. I –"

"Oh god, what else did you do?" He asked. It was quite possibly that he was actually hearing his own sense of foreboding, ringing out like the peal of a bell.

"I . . . Sasuke-san wants what he cannot have from me. I recognized it. I saw it in his eyes...and . . . I used it against him."

"How far did you go with him?" His heart was pounding a dull throb that he could feel in his temple.

"Not far enough for him, too far for me. I k-k-k..." She could barely bring herself to say more than that, especially since she could still feel Sasuke's body on her own from earlier, rehashing unwilling memories in her mind.

"And you didn't see fit to tell me this?" Naruto's voice had undertaken a soft and deadly tone. He was speaking with his teeth clenched.

"I tried. Really I did. But I was afraid that you wouldn't understand."

"Now you're insulting me. Don't you know that I love you? Don't you know that I would choose you over Sasuke? I thought I knew you. I thought you loved me. How could you be so stupid?"

It was like a slap to the face and heated indignation rose up in her.

"Because! What have you spent the last two and a half years doing, Naruto? Every other word out of your mouth is what? Whom do you call the brother you never had? He is the same person that could do no wrong in your eyes. He's a deserter, yet you call him misguided. He tried to kill you and still you forgive him! I didn't do what I did because of him. I did it for you."

"Did you really?"

"Yes. I did. He never touched me tonight. He threw down a teacup and it broke. I cut my foot on the shards. That's where the blood is from. He never touched me."

He moved and sat down on the bed next to her, running his hands through his dishevelled hair. He rested his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands as if he were the world's most depressed man, unable to raise his head up. She looked at him. His back was taut from the anger that he was coaxing himself not to unleash on her. After a bit of silence she dared to speak; her voice soft and desperate.

"Naruto, I was wrong. You were right. I was stupid. I should have known better."

"It's just that I'm having a hard time understanding Sasuke. I never thought that he would be one to be interested in geisha. And if he found out your connection to me, why did he continue to pursue you? Is it that he just wants to cause me pain?"

"This wasn't about you." She echoed the words that Sasuke had told her earlier. "Sasuke isn't after me because I'm yours. He wants me in a way that I would not give up willingly to him and also he wants me...because of my eyes."

Naruto, with his head still in his hands, turned to see her. His mouth was slightly opened, his eyes narrowed as he slowly lowered his hands and sat a little straighter on the bed. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "What did you just say?"

"I...I..."

He stood up, his full height towering over her. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"Speak up Hinata! I can't hear you!"

She flinched at his tone.

"Hinata, when I got your letter I was...I didn't know what to do. Iruka-sensei told me that I should go to Gaara and beg for his assistance. I made it to Sand in record time. And you know what Gaara tells me when I get there? He tells me that he thinks you're actually the long, lost Hyuuga heir." Hinata lowered her eyes in abject disappointment. She felt that any moment now she would throw up. "I looked at him like he was a madman. But what reason does he have to lie? On the way here I spent most of the time trying to convince him that even if you were, you probably had no idea. I told him that there was no way that Hinata would know of something like that and not tell me." His voice was rising, and his face had something resembling a sneer on it. "There is no way that you would look me in the face and lie to me over and over again! There was just no way. Tell me that you didn't make me look like a fool, Hinata! Tell me that!"

Naruto had told her that he had a terrible temper, but until now she had never been privy to it. Her stomach clenched tighter and tighter. She avoided his gaze.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don't try that with me. You look me in the eyes and tell me that you weren't lying to me."

Stubbornly, she refused to look at him. He wanted to turn her head towards him, but he didn't trust himself to take his hands out of his pocket.

"Hinata! Look at me!"

Reluctantly she turned to him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I didn't always know. I was approached by Hanabi Hyuuga after you rescued me from the woods on the edge of Sound. She told me of my heritage, of how Nayako had really taken me and was hiding the truth from me all this time. She broke the seal on my eyes in exchange for helping her bring in Sasuke-san."

He stood there staring at her.

"I didn't want to lie to you. But I thought that...that maybe if I had brought in Sasuke-san you would have forgiven me for what I did with him . . . what I did to you."

"In exchange for helping her bring in Sasuke?" He repeated softly. "So, tonight," He gestured again to the bed with an upward nod of his chin, "tonight was all planned?"

"No! No, not at all. I didn't know that he was going to be here. I didn't know that he was my sponsor." She said hastily, hoping that that one bit of truth might redeem her.

Naruto shrugged and it was the worst.

"Well, I don't know what to believe. You've been lying to me for so long, I feel like I don't know what's the truth and what's not. But you know what really gets me? You said that Nayako had been hiding the truth from you all this time. I imagine you must have felt pretty stupid and betrayed. Yet you turn right around and do the same thing to me."

She didn't like his words because they made her feel incredibly stupid as he was right. His words dug deep into her, stinging her blood and her bones. She felt as if she got socked in the stomach.

"I could have forgiven you for what happened between you and Sasuke. You did what you thought you had to do. But the lying? I told you how when I was younger no one dared speak to me. I was in the dark all this time. I hated it. I would ask and no one would tell me. You know how I feel about lying. You finally found out how it feels to have people keeping things from you and then you turn right around and do the same thing to me." His voice was calm, _calm_, but there were small orange bubbles rising up from him and Hinata was terrified.

"Naruto –"

"Don't call my name!" He shouted at her in a tone so loud that she was struck silent and still. She didn't even dare blink.

"Naruto, that's enough."

They both looked up to see Gaara standing in the doorway, sand swirling around him. Hinata looked up at Naruto. His eyes had a disturbing look behind them. Still, Naruto did not move.

"Naruto, don't let the Kyuubi get out. I'm warning you, Naruto. If you hurt Hinata, you'll regret it."

Naruto still did not move. Hinata however, could see him struggling. He was struggling to suppress the Kyuubi. She couldn't see the lines of blood that were streaming down his hands and into his pockets as in his rage and in his personal struggle, he had balled his hands until his nails drew blood. He stood for a while with his eyes closed and simply breathed. When he finally opened his eyes he didn't even look at Hinata and he seemed to be looking straight through Gaara, not really seeing him.

"Fuck this." He muttered very low and he walked away. Something in Hinata snapped and she sprang up from the bed. As soon as her foot hit the floor the pain shot up like a sting, a pinch, a slap and everything in between. The suddenness of it made her stumble, and just like all those months ago when she had first met him, Gaara's sand held her up and kept her from falling over. But she hardly paused. Clumsily, she hobbled after Naruto until she caught up to him and grabbed his arm. He spun around so violently that she nearly lost her balance and he reached out to grab her. They stood there staring at each other. Something was lost between them.

He turned and was gone before she had the chance to catch up. She ran past Gaara and went smack into Nayako. She could still see Naruto walking away from her down the hall.

"Naruto!" She called after him.

"Have some respect for yourself, Hinata!" Nayako chastised her as she held her back. "Don't beg for him."

Hinata struggled in Nayako's arms to get away from her and towards Naruto. Tears were streaming down her face. She was thrashing now, blood leaking out from her tabi and staining the wooden floors.

"Kazekage help me, please!"

Gaara had a tough choice to make. Stay and help Hinata or go after Naruto. He sighed heavily, a great show of emotion for him. In the end he decided that he had helped Hinata enough and he turned to go after Naruto.

It was then that Hinata's knees crumpled, her emotions crushing her to the point of acute fatigue and she fell to the ground empty, dizzy and weak. She trembled, tears streaming down her face, but she made no sound and no movements.

"Hinata, behave! You are embarrassing yourself." Nayako whispered fiercely in Hinata's ears as she stooped down to cradle her silently crying maiko. Hinata said nothing.

"Listen to me. I want you to stop crying because in all of my life I have never known tears to help with anything besides lubricating your eyes and fighting off dirt and infection. I think that you're looking at everything all wrong."

"But he makes me so happy and I messed it all up with mistake after mistake."

"Oh my, that is so sad that you think that way. Only you can make yourself happy, my dear. And you should never discount your mistakes. It is only through experience that you will realize that yes, there exist people who will hurt you and yes, there are people who will abandon you when you need them the most and yes, there are people who will not dare to forgive you, but you should understand that there are also people who will do anything for you. Who would you prefer to have in your life, the ones that will love you and forgive you and be there for you no matter what mistake you make or the ones that walk away from you when you need them the most?"

Hinata already knew the answer to that.

"But it hurts so much."

"And it will continue to hurt for a while, but it shall pass. It's not the end of the world. You _do _have a life here too, you know. You can stand on your own, separate and apart from Naruto. And besides, right now you're just miserable and you should count yourself very lucky to be miserable, because you could be dead."

Hinata unexpectedly smiled. She remembered Naruto joking that Nayako's pep talks could quite possibly make you want to slit your wrists. And then she was sad again.

* * *

_This is ridiculous_, Sasuke thought as he trapped some nin in a horrifying genjustu. He blended into the darkness around him as he slipped down a side street. Not for the first time he wondered who had sent the Kumo nin after him tonight. Was it Hinata? No, she did not know of his presence in advance. She was shocked to see him tonight and was even more shocked when she noticed that ninjas were attempting to ambush him at the inn. Hanabi Hyuuga was nowhere to be found, unless she was waiting patiently to attack him, but this sort of obvious attack was not her style. Why would she bypass all of the countless opportunities to attack him when he was at the inn with Hinata? No, it was not Hanabi. He couldn't imagine her wanting to share her glory with all these other nin of Kumo. She would prefer to take him out herself. Was it Nayako then? But she too was not supposed to know of his presence. During the mizuage dealings he was a silent partner, his name never called as he had used a proxy. Unless, she had figured it out or the man with the dyed too-black hair had sold him out. And to add to his troubles, he now had Shikamaru and Temari to deal with. They were helping him fight off the other nin, but he knew it was only so that they could capture him themselves.

From the corner of his eyes he saw the flash of light in the darkness before he saw anything else. He turned and Kabuto materialized from the shadows.

"So this is what you get up to when you take your little walks?"

He was still half hidden by the shadows, so only a bit of reflection from his glasses and his smirk could be seen. _Fuck_, Sasuke thought, but his face betrayed no emotion. He wondered if Orochimaru was near, but dismissed the thought. He knew that the time for switching bodies was near and Orochimaru (who was still strong enough to defeat this entire town with two shakes and a wiggle) was being weakened every day and would not be bothered by such trivial matters like his protégé unintentionally creating a war in another town. He would send his lapdog for something like that. Sasuke wondered how much exactly did Kabuto know, but he didn't care to find out. He had purposely led the fight away from the inn, away from Hinata. He knew that Kabuto would kill her as soon as he got the chance and he couldn't have that. If anyone were to kill Hinata, Sasuke thought, it would have to be him.

"Let's go."

"You don't want to finish the battle? It could be like a training exercise for you. You're always talking about how much you want to train."

"Let's go." Sasuke repeated, withdrawing his curse seal and slipping past Kabuto to disappear in the shadows.

He had liked to believe that he had learned a valuable lesson with Hinata – to never again let passion come between reason and accountability. But he knew that the reason he was fleeing was not because of logic, but because he was still weak; a weakness the likes of which physical training could not strengthen.

Kabuto looked around at all the destruction that Sasuke had inadvertently created. He chuckled and muttered, "Strange the foolish things desire makes some people do."

Sasuke pretended not to hear him.

* * *

Like a man possessed Naruto walked through the streets of Kumo, his mind fragmented. Gaara was directly behind him. There were signs of destruction and chaos all around them. Gaara called out to Naruto but whether out of sheer defiance or still dazed astonishment, Naruto resolutely ignored him in mute silence. He ignored Gaara and everything else around him. Total panic had engulfed the streets, but Naruto was immune to the screams. He was heading towards the gates and that was that. Shattered glass glittered on the streets like diamonds, but Naruto only stepped over them, crushing them into even tinier fragments with every step. Plaster from falling buildings masked him and he looked like some sort of demon spirit and people, even in their scrambled panic, avoided him as if he carried death with him. Nothing new for him. He was lost in his mind. He did not see any blood on the streets, or hear the screams. He was absorbed in his memories, oblivious to the rest of the world falling around him.

Finally, Gaara stopped him and turned him around.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"I'm going home." He answered as if it were obvious.

"Are you not taking Hinata with you?"

Naruto stared at him, his new founded apathy unable to support what Gaara just asked considering the recent revelations.

"What?"

"While you were talking, I made an offer to Nayako to pay off the rest of Hinata's debts and she accepted. Hinata is independent now. If you want, you can take her home."

"Gaara, do you want to be with Hinata?"

"She is a friend, Naruto."

Naruto looked at him, unsure whether to believe him or not.

"Why did you tell me your suspicions? I didn't ask, you shouldn't have told me."

"You would have preferred to walk about in ignorant bliss?"

"It has to be better than this." He answered, his indifference had fled and that disappointing sense of betrayal and hurt and loss returned swiftly. He knew that Gaara's decision to tell him his suspicions was an act of friendship, but all he felt was cheated. But he supposed that was a lingering effect of Hinata's confessions.

"Forgiveness is the final act of love, Naruto."

Naruto closed his eyes and stilled himself because he knew he was in danger of hitting Gaara upside the head for telling him that piece of nonsense. He almost told him, 'Oh yeah? And what the fuck would you know about love?' But he decided to hold his tongue on that and instead said,

"Gaara, shut up." He turned around and headed towards the direction of the gates and Gaara smirked at the irony of Naruto being unresponsive to Talk no Justu.

Gaara looked around at the madness around him. With his all-seeing sand eye, he knew that Sasuke was just around the corner on another street behind them talking to Kabuto. He considered telling Naruto, but decided that his friend had had enough for one night. He followed Naruto to the gates of Kumo. His mind ran on Hinata, but he did what he could for her already. He would write to her later. But he couldn't leave Naruto. He was a danger to himself and others in this state, and of all people, Gaara would know. He simply couldn't leave him in this state, so he walked behind Naruto and watched as his friend struggled not to fall apart like the rest of the world around him.

* * *

Neji waited at the gates of Hinata's okiya. It was not that hard to find as apparently his long lost cousin was quite famous in Kumo. He had learnt that she was not at home and that the only man that could enter the okiya was the dresser of the geishas. He could have gotten in if he wanted to, but decided not to be disrespectful to the okiya...unless he had to. His Byakugan had been activated since they first spotted Sasuke in Kumo and it troubled him that he was yet to see Hanabi. The street was silent as all of the other residents had locked themselves inside from the trouble that brewed in the main part of town that was really only about two streets away. He didn't blame them. In the distance he could feel the concussion of explosions in the main town and see the distant clang of metal. Soon he saw before he heard, the kago being pulled by four men. Inside he could clearly make out his cousin. At first he had wondered whether he would recognize her, but as he looked at her now, he had no doubts. She still had the same stunning eyes, though they were marred red and swollen for it seemed that she had been crying. The kago stopped in front of him and the dresser was the first to disembark, followed by Nayako who stopped in her tracks when she saw him. She threw out her right hand to stop Hinata from exiting.

"Konban wa. I am Neji Hyuuga and I wish to speak with your maiko, Hinata."

Nayako did not move. She was trying to figure out her best options. Suddenly she smiled and lowered her hand.

"I'm afraid my maiko is not accepting suitors, but feel free to have a few words with her in my presence. Make it quick; Kumo is not safe tonight."

Neji nodded at her, his face stern. There was something unnerving about this geisha. Hinata apparently needed help to come out of the Kago and the dresser rushed forward to help her. When Neji saw her he deactivated his Byakugan as a sign of respect. He wasn't sure what to think when he saw her. She was dressed again in her black kimono with the yellow obi and red under robe, but her face was white, not with paint, but because she was weakened emotionally, and physically from the blood loss. Her hair fell around her face magnifying her pallor. She leaned heavily against the dresser.

"Yes?" She said when she saw him staring at her.

"Hinata-sama, I am your cousin, Neji Hyuuga of Konoha. I am here –"

"I have no interest in Konoha anymore. I do not wish to know the family there and I have no ties to that village. My life is here. I am sorry that you have made your journey in vain, but I never want to see another Hyuuga in life again. Please, let me be. I am tired."

"But –"

"Please don't harass my maiko. I'm sure that you are a gentleman and you have respect for a lady's wishes." Nayako said. Neji didn't know what to say. He watched as Hinata leaned heavily on the dresser and they made their way inside with Nayako trailing. Just before she closed the creaky steel gate, Nayako turned to him.

"Have a goodnight, young Hyuuga."

He thought of simply taking Hinata, but Neji was no fool and quietly dismissed the idea. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that that geisha had somehow machinated circumstances so that Hinata would _choose_ to stay in Kumo. There was no evidence of Hanabi, but he suspected that she had been there. He never quite accepted that his cousin could simply go missing on a routine mission on the edge of Sand. She had to have been in Kumo, but something happened here.

Recently, Neji had begun to feel sympathetic towards his uncle Hiashi. At first he had hated him, thinking that he had been responsible for his father's death, but after Neji's battle with Naruto that misunderstanding got cleared up and he enjoyed a closer relationship with his uncle. And by close, it is understood that Neji was no longer plotting to kill him. But recently, Neji had come to understand that his uncle must be a lonely man having to lose his family like that. But now, the feeling of sympathy morphed into empathy as Neji completely related what Hiashi must have felt like having to return to Konoha from Kumo without his daughter. Neji didn't like having to be the bearer of this particular bad news – your long lost daughter, who you thought was dead, is actually alive and wants nothing to do with you; your other daughter you feared was dead, was probably alive all this time, but has now quite possibly died as well or is in serious trouble.

Neji sighed. He needed to regroup with Shikamaru and Temari. They had to head back to Konoha as quickly as possible, let Hiashi know what was going on and plan their invasion on Kumo.

* * *

She couldn't just lie there and wait for her death to reach her. Hanabi struggled to get up, and get up she did. Now she had to stay up. She leaned her right shoulder heavily against a tree and for a while she stood there, breathing. For about five minutes she simply breathed. She knew the task she had ahead of her. The ground was mostly slick, wet clay and she would more than likely have to climb over one ridge after another before she got to anywhere remotely populated. She also discarded the idea that Nayako threw her over a precipice. She concluded that it was Nayako's idea, but the actual dirty work to throw over her a ridge this far from civilization was probably executed by some other, nameless and indecently paid friend of Nayako's.

Kumo had about 365 rivers; one for every day of the year. Hanabi knew that if she walked far enough she was bound to run into one and she'd take her chances from there, hoping that she would run into some loner on the river. It was a risky chance, but it was a chance she had to take. She was a Hyuuga. She was not giving up and she had to get back to her sister, if she was still alive, that is. She reached down and pulled a kunai from her pocket that was made incredibly difficult to hold with her broken thumb. With patience and fortitude she cut off a thin, low lying branch from a tree and made it her walking stick/crutch. She dragged forward, ignoring the pain in the left side of her body as she thought that she needed to spend some time on Summoning jutsus.

* * *

Hinata had spent her night crying herself to sleep. The previous night's events loomed large in her mind and for a brief moment she wondered if she should have gone after Naruto, but soon dismissed the useless thought as she knew that the outcome would be the same, but the embarrassment might have increased. All of that regret was exhausting her. She lay quite still and decided that she would spend the day wallowing in self-pity and sleeping to dream. Usually she would have been up, already dressed and training with Hanabi sitting there pointing out faults and listing her expectations.

Hanabi.

Where was she now? Was she secretly watching her sister, wondering how her plan had failed and that her sister was still alive? Hinata couldn't believe that all this time had been a lie. Naruto was not the only one to feel betrayed. She felt betrayed, Naruto felt betrayed, heck, even Sasuke-san must have felt betrayed on some sort of skewed level, she imagined, when he saw those ninjas attempting to ambush him. That bothered her. Not the fact that he got ambushed. Rather, she wondered how did those nin know that he was there. Who sent them? It couldn't have been Hanabi. She would never have spent months training her sister in a daring two-man plan only to have Kumo nin attack Sasuke. As far as Hanabi was concerned, Hinata mused, she thought of Sasuke-san as Konoha property that should be brought back by Konoha nin. The idea of giving over the job to Kumo nin didn't suit Hanabi at all. Hinata had to admit however, that clearly she didn't know Hanabi like she thought she had. She closed her eyes briefly as she remembered that Naruto had said something similar to her. Tears pooled in her eyes again and next thing she knew she was crying again. Her crying however, was soon rudely interrupted by Nayako who was looking like walking happiness in a very expensive bright pink kimono with green vines and a powder blue obi.

"You still on with that, huh?" Nayako asked, looking at Hinata as if she were a particularly troubling Mathematics problem. Hinata didn't bother to answer her.

"Why aren't you dressed?

"I don't feel like getting dressed. Nayako, I would like it very much if you left me alone. You and everyone else...please." She added the please as a last ditch attempt to sound respectful. She sounded weary.

"You can't sit there all day wallowing in your funk. Why is it that when people are sad they sit around all day in dark rooms, listening to slit-your-wrists music and generally being a walking funky fart? It makes no sense. It's almost as if you don't want to be happy." She said as she crossed over to the eastern wall and threw open the windows. Bright seven o'clock rays streamed in. Hinata turned away from it and groaned in irritation. Nayako came back around to stand in line of Hinata's vision. Hinata gave her an arched eyebrow of annoyance but felt too tired to maintain the expression for long.

"See, look at my new kimono my danna sent me. You should wear bright –"

"Danna?"

"You forgot that I have a danna, Hinata? Stop being silly."

"Oh right. It's just that you almost never speak of him." Hinata couldn't even remember his name, not that she cared to at the moment.

"My danna isn't always around, but he comes around when I need him the most. He was in Kumo for a little bit last night and I saw him when you were at the inn with Sasuke-san."

Hinata closed her eyes as her stomach clenched in annoyance. Here was Nayako, who had a danna and all they meant to each other was a business agreement. Hinata had the opportunity to have the man of her dreams as her danna at some point in time and she blew it. Her mind reverted to last night and not for the first time she wondered if things might have gone differently if she had said something differently or not done this or not done that.

"You should get up and maybe practise your shamisen. You've neglected it all these months because of Hanabi. Don't worry my dear, things will get better. I promise."

Hinata turned away from her and pulled the blanket over head wondering why she didn't have selective hearing.

With her kimono rustling loudly on the ground she went to the bathroom and drew Hinata's bath. She pulled Hinata off the futon and dragged her to the bathroom where she stripped her down and forced her to bathe, ignoring Hinata's cries that her foot was still in pain. She called in a maid to scrub Hinata's scalp and skin until Hinata felt as raw on the outside as she did on the inside. Unwillingly, Hinata put on her underwear, tabi and her under robe and sat at her dressing table with her bottom lip jut out from here to Suna.

"Now, I have to go out, but I'll be back later. The dresser is outside waiting to help you. When I get back I want to hear you play _Moonlight Lovers_. I'll bring you back something sweet, okay? Cheer up my sweet maiko; though it may feel that way, the world hasn't ended. All the drama from last night has mellowed. Thank goodness our okiya was spared from that."

With that she left and for that Hinata was grateful. She knew that Nayako was only trying to make her happy but because of that Hinata was annoyed by her even more. The dresser came in, followed by a maid toting a lavender kimono. The maid left and the dresser stood there looking at Hinata.

"Can you stand given the recent gash to your foot?"

"I need to lean on something to take the pressure off." Hinata said. She felt so drained that it was a chore for her to finish her sentences. He nodded and she stood up leaning heavily on the dresser while he fitted the kimono around her, tucking it here and there just perfectly. He proceeded to tie her obi and Hinata noticed that he really was a professional at what he did. She remembered when Naruto had tied her obi it was slightly crooked and lumpy, but she had said nothing. She had kept her mouth shut a lot of times with him. Hinata sighed. The dresser looked up.

"Are you still traumatised about last night? I was too. I ran outside to the hallway and down to the front desk and I didn't meet a soul who could have helped me. Everyone was outside wondering about the commotion or locked in their rooms unwilling to get involved."

"Well, you met Nayako on the way, remember? And you told her about Sasuke-san." She said it a bit bitterly, but he didn't take notice to her tone.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. Remember? She came in directly after you left and said that you told her what happened." Hinata said patiently to the middle-aged man, wondering if he was traumatised by last night or was just plainly getting old.

"No, no. I met Nayako only _after_ I procured the kago for you two. I spent about twenty minutes haggling with the clerk and I saw your friend, Naruto-san walk past followed by the Kazekage, of all people. _After_ that I saw Nayako sitting with you in the corridor, but I didn't mention Sasuke-san because I figured that you already told her."

Hinata stared at him, her mind racing. He babbled on about something or the other for a couple of minutes before he noticed that Hinata was not listening. He bid her a good day and left to help another geisha of the okiya get dressed. Hinata however, struggled to make it to the door. She needed to get a cane of some sort, but until then she was stuck with limping. She 'hurried' down the veranda and stood still at the door to Auntie's room wondering if the old bat was in, when she suddenly remembered that she could use her Byakugan. Hinata face-palmed for her stupidity.

With the appropriate hand seals she activated her Byakugan. Instantly she saw Auntie smoking on her cigarette, her wrinkled skin folded and stuffed into a simple black kimono. She was going over the books. Hinata focused her vision, trying to look at the writing on each page that wasn't in use. Eventually, with shock, she noticed Auntie's writing in the form of a small note in the remarks column – _Payment to be received by the Kazekage no later than the end of June._ Hinata could clearly see that remark written next to her own name and the balance written as zero. And above that was the balance left over after her mizuage was paid for. She saw a list of men's names, clients whom she had met at some point in time or the other, scratched out with _inappropriate social standing _or_ unable to match the highest bid_ in the remarks column next to the names. Next to her mizuage bid was a man's name, Mr. Upset & Vomit's, Hinata recognized. But in pencil she saw the initials _U.S._ followed by the words _silent partner_. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan right after she saw Auntie turn the pages of the ledger and write in how much a young maid owed the okiya after she had spilled wax on a kimono.

Hinata made it back to her room with her mind on several things. Firstly, maybe the Kazekage was right and she really could be a spy. It seemed easy enough especially with her Byakugan. Granted, she now had a massive headache from focusing her Byakugan in order to separate her depth perception into varying levels in an attempt to focus on the writings on each page, but still; it was relatively easy.

But that was the least of Hinata's thoughts. Her mind churned the latest revelation – Nayako knew that Sasuke-san was the mizuage sponsor. Hinata sat down at her dressing table, her heart feeling as if there was a huge hole in it. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her face did not look fair, but ghostly especially framed by her indigo that she has yet to style. After her mizuage she was supposed to style her hair in the 'split peach' hairstyle. She could care less about those things now. Her eyes were still red-rimmed from crying and she wondered if they would ever look the same again. Hinata sat there for a long time thinking over a lot of things. She decided her first decision would be to head to a ninja hospital and get the wound on her foot healed immediately. She called out to a maid for help.

It was late afternoon by the time Nayako returned. The sun was setting and orange streaks lit up the courtyard. Hinata stood on the second floor of the veranda and watched her geisha sister make her way up the steps. Her hands were laden with sweets that she knew Hinata would like.

"Oh you're up! That's good to see. I brought you things I know that you're going to like. I even got you cake!" She smiled and Hinata noted that it was a genuine smile. Nayako was genuinely happy to see her. She went inside to put down the sweets, and then rejoined Hinata on the veranda.

"Admiring the sunset? It is beautiful."

"You knew that Sasuke-san was my mizuage sponsor. Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata asked with no preamble whatsoever. Her voice was low. Nayako sighed and turned to face Hinata. Hinata was still staring forward.

"How did you find out?"

Hinata was glad that Nayako hadn't attempted to feed her more lies. She turned to face her.

"Byakugan, remember? I read Auntie's books when the dresser let something slip."

"I see. I knew there was a loose end." She muttered more to herself. "I did this for you, you know." With that she let her confession fall from her lips, not in a jumble, but in a controlled manner as if she knew eventually she would have had to confess. "I made a deal with Hanabi. I would convince you to train under her and capture Sasuke and in exchange she would beg your father not to kill me. But that was the overt deal. My actual plan was that I would make you _want_ to stay in Kumo on your accord. I needed you to choose me in the end because I knew that your father would never go against your wishes if you asked to stay in Kumo with me. Everything that I did was geared towards you choosing me. I forced Hanabi to convince you not to tell Naruto the truth between you and Sasuke. I purposely engineered your career as a dancer and I willingly agreed to let you train under Hanabi because I wanted you to have more independence and recognition than you've ever had in your entire life. I knew that you would have written to Naruto about your mizuage, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. When I found out that Sasuke-san was actually trying to be your mizuage sponsor I didn't try to block the deal. Rather I encouraged him and I used last night as a culmination of my plans."

"And it worked. I told Neji-san that I didn't want to return to Konoha. You truly are amazing and despicable."

Nayako didn't say anything. She was waiting patiently for Hinata to make her move as she recognized that she was in a position of vulnerability. She was a like a rabbit bordered by a pack of hungry wolves and backed up against a tree, determined not to give way, knowing full well that the moment she faltered, the instant she revealed her weakness, she would be made to surrender.

"You sent those Kumo nin after Sasuke-san, didn't you?"

"I sent them in an attempt to save you. They weren't actually Kumo nin, however. You should have read the papers today. They were rogue nin."

"Hanabi should have saved me. What did you do with her?"

Nayako averted her gaze to the setting sun. Its streaks had waned and the night was just starting to settle in.

"I had someone throw her over a precipice." She finally admitted. Hinata sucked in her breath sharply in shock. She could feel the anger whirling around her and it was taking her everything to remain calm. She could feel her anger like a tingling sensation and reckoned that her synapses must be firing off at a more rapid state. She had no idea that she was gripping the banister with that much force, letting chakra escape from her hands, until the wood broke off in her hands. She threw it down to the courtyard. Nayako didn't move.

"Whom did you use?"

"I don't do that myself. My danna hired someone for me."

"Your danna was involved in this too!" Hinata screamed at her and the maids in the courtyard looked up curiously to see what was going on, but Hinata couldn't hold it in anymore. "You selfish, stupid, stupid, selfish, bitch!" She raised her hand to slap her, but Nayako caught it in her own and flung it away as if it were a bothersome fly.

"I'm selfish? How dare you! You could have died in a river. Your lungs could have been filled with muddy, silt water and fish could have ripped apart your dead flesh and I'm selfish? I could have left you there, but I took care of you because I knew that my brother did wrong by trying to steal your eyes. I took care of you and I'm selfish? All I wanted was for you to have a great life, a successful life. You think you could have had that in Konoha as a Hyuuga? You were shy and insecure. What kind of Hyuuga heir would you have made? I wanted to save you from a life like that. I only wanted the best for you and all I ask is that you be grateful. I am more than just a sister to you. I am like a mother to you. I did everything for you and you call me selfish? You ungrateful wretch!"

"You saved me from a river. That was something that any decent human being should have done. Don't boast about it. You say that you saved me from some poor wretched life in Konoha, but how would you know? You never gave me the chance."

"The chance came when you washed up on the banks of Kumo. And don't tell me that I shouldn't talk about it. Don't make it sound as if you're better than me and that what I did was trivial. If I'm selfish then you're narrow-minded. You may have regained your sight, dear maiko, but you remain as half-blind as ever. You can't see what real love and sacrifice is. You don't understand when a person would do anything for another because they want that person in their life. I understand that because I love you."

Hinata paused, Nayako's words stirring something within her, reawakening her conscience. She was silent for a long time, silent for so long that the maids' and other geishas' curious glances at the fight diminished and soon everyone went back to work. The sky was dark now and Hinata needed the distraction to soothe her anger. It was Nayako that spoke first.

"What are you thinking?"

"You believe that a person should never give up on the person that they love and that they should relentlessly pursue that love, no matter what by whatever means possible?"

"Yes." She turned to leave and Nayako grabbed her hand, whirling her around. "Exactly what are you going to do?"

"I must leave for Konoha and pursue Naruto."

Nayako's face went blank with shock for a while. "But he does not love you anymore."

"Then I will love him to the point that he is mine again."

"Strange the foolish things desire makes some people do." Nayako said, shaking her head in disgust.

"You should talk. Your love for me is a different kind of love, but I understand why you did the things you did. I don't hate you. As a matter of fact, you've made up my mind in my decision to go after Naruto. Thank you for convincing me of that."

Nayako stared her at her, her reddened lips straightened into a line of irritability.

"Are you going to help me look for Hanabi?"

"What? No! She could be anywhere"

"You know Nayako-san, I heard that long ago the traditional way to kill a geisha that had committed a grave crime such as kidnapping or attempted murder was to tie her down and drape layers of wet silk over her face until either she suffocated or drowned. It was supposed to be a beautiful death befitting of a beautiful woman. I wonder if they still practise that."

Nayako eyes bulged in shock and then she suddenly simmered and a wry smile graced her features.

"Very good, young maiko. You've learnt to become most persuasive and resourceful. Maybe you'd make an excellent ninja after all. And how do you propose that we go about finding your sister? She could be anywhere."

"You are also most persuasive and resourceful, Nayako-san. You find the information. I'll track her with my Byakugan."

With that Hinata walked off, her foot still sore, but much better than before. She was feeling a strange sense of power. She felt as if she had finally ceased to be a mere game piece in her own life.

* * *

**A/N**: Hope you guys noticed the not-so-subtle hint of who was Nayako's danna...

Review please!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto

**A/N**: FINAL CHAPTER! Woo Hoo! A humungous thank you goes out to all the people that reviewed, favourited, story and author alerted me. Your support has been my motivation. I thank you.

Big thanks goes to my Beta – **Ookami88**

* * *

It was only through catching glimpses of documents and walking in on tail-ends of conversations that Sakura realized something was wrong with Naruto, though she didn't know enough to piece together exactly what had happened. She could only infer with the limited intelligence she was working with that Naruto and his girlfriend, Hinata, had broken up and that that news was insignificant compared to a bigger revelation that apparently circled around the girlfriend in question. What she did know however, was that Naruto was a very dangerous man. She found it downright scary that the same person who only a few weeks ago was rinsing out her ears about how much he was in love with this geisha girlfriend could now barely muster up a stygian look for the pain that he was supposed to be in. The only thing that possibly clued her in to Naruto supposedly hiding his suffering under a veil of his usual I-will-bring-back-Sasuke rhetoric was his freak-out with Sai just ten minutes earlier (granted that she too had briefly considered whether she could murder Sai _and_ get away with it, but in her defence if anyone just spent five minutes with the guy then they too would be the first to visit the Yamanaka's gardening shop to buy a shovel and bottles of lye), but still that was not enough to say Naruto was surreptitiously battling depression and barely contained rage. However, she was his friend and as a friend she thought it her duty to discern whether the rumours were true. Maybe the rumours were wrong and Naruto was simply nervous that about this mission to meet a believed spy in Orochimaru's ranks who was supposedly really working for Sasori. Or maybe Naruto, like herself, was upset at having to work with a poor man's version of Sasuke in the form of a rude and insulting ANBU loan named Sai No Last Name. Or maybe he was fine after all. Whatever the reason, Sakura intended to find out.

Captain Yamato had suggested that they all visit the springs in an attempt to improve group dynamics and cohesion, so Sakura decided that she would try to talk to Naruto then. They had eaten dinner and she had to admit that Captain Yamato seemed like a really nice guy, but she still missed the odd-ball humour of Kakashi-sensei and his increasing ludicrousness of his excuses for being late. She still disliked Sai. She saw Naruto was about to head to bed and she whispered to him that she wanted to talk to him in private. They walked outside quietly until they had reached the small, wooden dock that led out onto a bucolic stream pool. Fireflies dipped in and out of the darkness, the moonlight illuminating them romantically, slightly eerily.

"'Sup?"

"Naruto...did you and Hinata break up?"

His eyes widened for a brief moment then sunk into resignation. "Uh...yeah, we did." He laughed nervously and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head in a bid to eschew further questioning. She looked expectantly at him for any throat-hitching, teary-eyed breakdown. He stuck his pinkie in his ears distractedly.

"What happened? How come you didn't tell me?" So much for further questioning. With a sudden realization she rounded on him with her eyes narrowed, "Did you do something stupid?"

"What? No! I didn't do anything at all!" He said loudly, indignant that she would automatically assume that he was to blame.

"So why'd you break up?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." He answered her, looking oddly detached.

"Did you even care for her like you said you did?"

"Excuse me?"

"Naruto, you're acting like nothing ever happened. I thought you said that you loved this girl. I've never known you to use your words like that so lightly. Did you ever really love her? You're acting as if she never even existed or mattered."

Naruto stared at Sakura and he felt suddenly tired. All of the self-confidence and usual bravado he displayed earlier seemed to have slid off of him in that instant and he looked a lot older. His face shifted through about five different emotions: confusion, wistfulness, annoyance, sly calculation, rueful resignation. He took a deep breath and tried to stuff all his depression and angst back inside his emotional closet.

"Sakura. . . I. . .I don't know how to deal, okay? I'm not being cold-hearted. I'm just trying to survive, alright?" It was as close as he could get to telling her exactly how he was feeling without letting her see him completely without his mask. The only person who had ever seen all sides of him was Hinata and he had planned on keeping it that way.

When he had left Kumo he had up his mask of apathy, but he longed to slip it off. The only problem with that was that he was quite private when it came to removing his masks and at that moment counting himself, the Kyuubi and Gaara, Naruto was thinking that three's a crowd. They were walking down a steep hill, dense foliage on either side of them. Ahead of them they could see a thick green canopy that the road disappeared into, beyond that, pinpoint lights from the valley towns and beyond that nothing but darkness. As soon as they had reached a bit of distance from the gates of Kumo he turned to Gaara to address his friend's superfluous presence.

"You planning on following me all the way to Konoha?"

"No."

A long silence followed. It was customary for Gaara, but not for Naruto and for that Gaara was worried.

"Do you want me to come with you to Konoha?"

"I want...I want to erase time so that I could go back and fix things."

"You still have the time. You can go back to Hinata now if you want."

"Or do _you_ want to go back to Hinata? Why are _you_ throwing so much money after her? Why are _you_ so concerned with her?" He asked with sudden irritation.

Gaara stared at him.

"Everyone seems to want her. Don't you want her?" Naruto asked.

"Am I your stand-in for the things you want to say to Sasuke?"

"Ex-CUSE-me?" It was the disbelieving I-know-you-didn't-just-say-what-I-thought-you-said 'ex_cuse_ me'.

Neither of them moved as they stood there staring at each other, searching for the friend that each knew was there. Naruto looked like he didn't quite believe Gaara, yet he wanted to believe him. After a few tense moments, Gaara could see the tension twist in his friend's face as he threw his hands in the air in frustration, his lips taut against all the things he wanted to say and refused to. How many times Naruto had pushed aside the thought that there was another man in Hinata's life? When he had learnt of her friendship with Gaara, he quickly suffocated all indications of apprehension. But to learn that the nameless and faceless shadowed phantom that he knew was there was actually Sasuke, well... He could hardly believe it.

"I worried about it. I thought about it all the time, but I put it out of my mind." He mumbled mostly to himself, yet also a bit to Gaara. Gaara said nothing. Naruto's brain kept alternating images to him. He could see Hinata's delicate and rubescent face, her eyes hopeful, her lips parted to form a timid smile. But then he could also see the blood on the sheets. And though he believed her when she told him that she had only cut her foot and that Sasuke had never touched her tonight, it didn't deflect from the truth that had Sasuke realized his intentions tonight, the sheets would have still been stained red with her blood by the end of the night one way or the other.

And then he kept remembering how her face looked when she hobbled out to stop him from leaving. Her eyelashes were given the herculean task of keeping at bay her tears and he had found her devastatingly beautiful and he almost stopped. He almost stayed. But then he remembered the lies and he suddenly found her hideous and he turned from her.

"All my life people have kept things from me or lied to me deliberately. I've gotten used to that for the most part, but I wasn't expecting it from her." He mumbled again.

She had lied initially because Sasuke had asked her to. Then she lied because she had kissed Sasuke. Then she lied because she wanted to help bring back Sasuke to Konoha. The reasons behind it were all supposedly noble – Sasuke had saved her life and she couldn't break her promise to him, Sasuke tried to kidnap her and she had to do what was necessary to stay alive, Sasuke is the misguided friend of her boyfriend and if she brought him back all would be forgiven. No, Naruto understood all the reasons she had lied and covered up and deceived him – she couldn't bare to lose him. But in his mind, all he really accepted was that she had lied to him. He looked at it in the most basic sense, which was that she had lied to him and he said as much out loud to Gaara.

"She lied to you because she didn't want to lose you." Gaara countered.

"Yeah well, here's the thing I'm having a hard time with: If she loves me as much as she claims to then why is she hiding things from me? Doesn't she trust me? We could have worked together on bringing back Sasuke."

"I think that Hanabi and her geisha sister manipulated her."

"Stop making excuses for her! She lied to me. It's not like her biggest secret was that her hair isn't naturally indigo. This is big! This is a big, big lie. I feel like I don't even know her."

"Hinata taught me really well what is irony. She was always pointing it out, especially in her letters to me." Naruto looked at Gaara like he was a madman, unable to comprehend why Gaara would bring up something like that when just a couple of minutes ago Naruto clearly stated how uncomfortable Gaara's friendship with Hinata made him feel. Oblivious, Gaara said, "And I find it ironic that for the rest of the time you seem almost demonic in your single-minded consideration of Sasuke, yet now, you refuse to acknowledge his culpability in this."

For a brief moment Naruto was surprised that Gaara managed to say so many words all in one sitting, but then he quickly regained his composure.

"What are you trying to say?"

Ignoring Naruto's question, Gaara continued,

"She also wrote to me –" Naruto rolled his eyes so hard he nearly pulled something.

"Oh good! For a second I was worried that you were done talking about the close relationship you have with Hinata." He mumbled. He was really coming into the sarcasm thing, he thought idly.

Gaara stared at him, his face blank as he looked as if he was simply waiting for Naruto to stop talking. Again impervious to Naruto's bowels-evacuating glare, Gaara continued, "And she said that she sometimes had the feeling that she's never what she seems or appears to be, yet what she appears to be is probably exactly what she is."

For a while they simply stood there staring at each other. Naruto spoke first with,

"What?"

"I think that you have the same issue as her."

Naruto again: "What?" This time with a little more annoyance.

"I have to get back. Naruto, think about what I said."

"What you said? Are you talking about that fortune cookie shit you just pulled on me? Because that makes no sense at all!" He screamed at Gaara's back.

At the time it hadn't made sense to him, but now, now as he spoke to Sakura he admitted to himself that he now understood Gaara's words. If one looked closer, what he appeared to be was someone that was insecure and terrified at losing the few people in his life that mattered, though sometimes it could be doubted that he was not insecure, but actually intensely focused and confident. In the end however, what he appeared to be was exactly what he was, which was actually unbelievably insecure. His insecurity for losing Hinata manifested itself in sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle jealousy. His insecurity for losing Sasuke showed in the relentless pursuit of the one of the few people that he would consider a brother to him. His insecurity manifested itself in the way in which his mind categorically rejected all ideologies and theories that did not support this anxiety.

In the end Naruto realized a bit too late that Gaara was right, though he hadn't said it in so many words. Naruto couldn't let Hinata take all the blame in what happened between them. His inherent jealousy and his unfounded and unwavering belief in Sasuke to the point of being deliberately obtuse had had a considerable impact on Hinata's decision to lie to him. And though he loathed admitting it; Sasuke had a lot to do with what happened as well. However, he had no intention of telling Sakura that. He knew heartbreak now, and though he knew that she knew it too, she didn't know _that_ kind of heartbreak. He had decided that he would pretend that everything was fine while he tried to work out in his brain exactly how to deal with the situation between him and Hinata. He knew that he had to go back to Kumo one day, to get down on his knees and grovel for her to take him back. But right now he really wanted to find Sasuke if only to give him a piece of his mind.

"Look, Sakura, there are some things that happened between Hinata and me and I promise that one day I'll tell you everything that happened, but right now I just want to –"

"– focus on reaching Sasuke?" She finished for him, mistaking the motive for his usual resolve.

"Yeah. I really hope that that Sasori character gave you correct information and there really was a spy that he was supposed to meet."

"I hope so too. I really would like to see Sasuke again."

"Me too. Me too." Naruto muttered darkly as he looked away from her and into the inky black pool. Sakura couldn't help but notice the cruelty in Naruto's eyes and it worried her. She really did hope that the information she had received was correct. When they left for the meeting at the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, surprisingly the Hokage seemed rather confident.

* * *

Neji and Shikamaru also couldn't fathom just why their Hokage seemed so to be so confident and in such a good mood that she had what one might dare to call a blasé attitude to Neji and Shikamaru's recent exploits in Kumo.

"I thought that this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission." She said looking up from another ninja's recent reports. She almost smiled as she saw that both boys were looking like they were expecting a smack upside the head.

"Sasuke showed up." Shikamaru said. "I think that Jiraiya-sama was right and Sasuke is mixed up somehow with Hinata, but I don't have any proof on that or exactly what is their connection. He escaped before Temari or I had the chance to apprehend him."

"The good news is that Hinata is definitely in Kumo and she lives the life of a geisha with a suspect geisha-sister." Neji said. Tsunade gave him an insouciant eyebrow and he steeled himself to continue, "She seems to know who she is, but wants nothing to do with Konoha and any Hyuuga, for that matter."

"And what of Hanabi?"

"MIA." Shikamaru answered.

"And Temari?"

"We left her with the Kazekage."

"Indeed." Tsunade replied and both Shikamaru and Neji were a little bit surprised that _she_ didn't seem surprised about the Kazekage's presence on that fateful night. She noted their curiosity.

"You're right about the geisha sister being suspect. She's the one that kept Hinata in Kumo all those years. Naruto came back before you did and he told me what happened. Though, I don't think that he ran into Sasuke then, but hopefully he'll meet him if the intelligence that Sasori gave us holds up. I suspect that they would have a lot to talk about." She said the last part more to herself.

"Team Kakashi is going to meet a supposed turncoat in Orochimaru's ranks and this intelligence came as the dying words of an Akatsuki member who tried to kill the Kazekage?" Shikamaru asked; his aporetic tone unmistakable underneath his lazy drawl.

"I too was suspicious of it at first. But then this letter came via messenger hawk a day before Naruto arrived. It came from Hinata. Most surprisingly she too confirmed that there is a double agent in Orochimaru's ranks."

"What!" Neji asked unable to contain his shock. "How would she know something like that?"

"I suppose when she gets here you can ask her that yourself."

"She's coming to Konoha? And what about Hanabi-sama?"

"Hanabi is fine." She said and Neji recognized that that was all he was going to get out of her. "Neji, you are dismissed. I want a report on my desk in the next hour. Oh and Neji, tell your uncle that I request a meeting with him urgently."

Neji closed the door behind him and let out a tired smile. It seemed that everything involving Hinata was always complicated enough to require the assistance of a theoretical physicist. How on earth would Hinata know about Sasori's meeting? He had briefly spoken to her but her soft tone and delicate features made him think that she was barely able to handle a slightly aggressive salesman let alone wrangle information from one of Orochimaru's men. But that was the least of his worries. Right now he had to fetch his unsuspecting uncle who was in for the biggest news of his life.

Meanwhile, Tsunade decided to give Shikamaru the letter Hinata had sent to her explaining exactly how she had managed to get information like that.

"Are you ready?" Nayako asked as she stood at the door to Hinata's room. Hinata looked up from putting kanzashi pins in the bun that was neatly wrapped at the base of her skull. She noted that Nayako was dressed very similar to herself in black cargo pants and a grey long-sleeved bomber jacket, except Hinata's was navy blue in colour. They wore waraji and tabi on their feet. It was the least feminine that Hinata had ever seen Nayako, who had taken down her split peach hairstyle and had her hair in a long plait that trailed past her hips. It was dark outside being somewhere near eleven o'clock, but the light from Hinata's room lit up Nayako beautifully. Her expression was pinched.

"Did you get the information?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. You're lucky that my danna decided to stay back in Kumo after all. Listen to me. I know that you have been training with Hanabi for some months, but the reality is that you're not a ninja. You don't know the basics. You don't know how to channel chakra into your feet at the precise outflow so that you can walk on water and climb trees. You have no survival skills. It's those basic skills that would make this 'rescue' mission considerably more difficult than it would be for real ninjas. I used to be able to do those things, but now I can't." Hinata gave her a slightly curious eyebrow at that admission, but Nayako ignored her. "We are civilians, young maiko. We are geisha. You need to be prepared for the fact that your sister may already be dead and you could die trying to find her."

"I suppose 'die trying' is the least you could do after you put her in this predicament in the first place." Hinata responded evenly. Nayako on the other hand barely suppressed her thoughts that were something along the lines of_ I worked my ass off to keep you safe and now you're going to probably get yourself killed in some incredibly stupid way like slipping on some moss and breaking your neck? Why do I BOTHER?_ Instead, she said,

"I do not care for your sister. I only care for you."

"And for yourself." Hinata gently reminded her.

"And for myself." Nayako admitted, "I have no motivation to trudge through the forest at night looking for a rude little child who was stupid enough to take on things too big for her tiny hands. I'm not to blame in this alone. You must take into account Hanabi's arrogance."

"You have no motivation? Think about wet silk, Nayako-san." Nayako managed a look that was at once remorseful and defiant and just a bit proud that Hinata had found out about all of the great things that having a backbone could do.

"Let's go. I hope you took a flashlight." Nayako replied, not bothering to muster up a snarky response as she had to devote her brain power to thinking up ways of getting out of this situation alive.

It took them forty-five minutes to get from the okiya to the edge of the central range. After that they had to ascend for another further forty minutes up a winding, desolate and increasingly narrowing dirt road before they reached the spot off of which Hanabi was dumped. It was perilously dark but Hinata refused to activate her Byakugan just yet, instead using their flashlights to light the way, to navigate them through the darkness and the grey mist.

"Stop." Nayako said and Hinata nearly walked right into her when Nayako stopped abruptly.

"Is this the place?" Hinata asked; her breathing laboured. Her foot was still sore and she reckoned that she really shouldn't be on it at all, but she dismissed the thought. Nayako removed a small piece of paper from her jacket pocket and trained the flashlight on it.

"Yes." She said after a while and replaced the note back in her pocket. "If she was thrown here she would have maintained a specific trajectory. She should be smart enough to know that she shouldn't stray far off of that path so that it would be easier to get help. That's not hard to do if she's heavily injured. It's even more difficult to do if she's dead."

Hinata decided that it was in her best interest if she ignored Nayako and her macabre humour. She activated her Byakugan and jumped when she saw the weak moonlight reflect off glasses. The glasses belonged to a man with silvery hair and who was standing a ways behind her, the underbrush doing an excellent job of masking his presence to the naked eye. Hinata spun around and in the same instance removed a pin from her hair with her right hand ready to make it into her own version of a shuriken; her left palm facing outward ready to deliver a quick blow of the Gentle Fist.

"Oh good Lord, Hinata, at ease. That's just my danna. Kabuto, you always liked a dramatic entrance, didn't you?" Nayako said and Kabuto emerged from the bushes. Hinata still did not move from her stance. Nayako smiled wryly as she noted that Hinata was on search and destroy mode while Kabuto couldn't be bothered to remove his hands from his pockets.

"Please, I'm not going to hurt you. I've seen the damage you can do with those pins." Kabuto said as he cautiously approached the two women. He was smirking. "My name is Kabuto. Please to meet you."

It suddenly occurred to Hinata exactly who this was. All the time before she could barely remember the name of Nayako's danna because truth be told he was someone she considered even less useless than a banana holder and a battery-operated spinning bottle. But she digressed. She remembered the name now. According to Naruto, Kabuto was Orochimaru's leading goon. Did Nayako know that? Reluctantly, Hinata resumed a more casual stance as she put the kanzashi back in her hair noting that she was in the presence of the two most untrustworthy people she might ever meet. She looked at Nayako while not taking her eyes off of Kabuto. Kabuto was a supposedly brilliant, but vile and ambiguous in his motives. Of course Nayako knew exactly who he was and who he fraternized with, Hinata concluded.

"You're Naruto's girlfriend or is it ex-girlfriend?" He asked and Hinata's lip steeled as she shot Nayako a cadaverous glare. "I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn. Let me start over. Hi, my name is Yakushi Kabuto and on the request of the beautiful Nayako I'm here to help you look for your sister."

Hinata gave him a stiff nod as she replaced the kanzashi in her hair. He walked over to the edge of the precipice. All one could really see was darkness and the thick, grey smoky mists interwoven in it. Hinata turned around to get her bearings right, something that was surprisingly quite easy to get wrong when one was able to see nearly 360 degrees.

"What you're looking for are broken branches and disturbed top soil in a definite pattern. Rain has fallen a few times since now and last night when Hanabi was thrown here, so the obvious signs might be hidden, but not for someone like you. Can you see it?" Kabuto asked.

Hinata looked at the images around her as a whole and then compared them to what was in front of her. It was clear that there was a distinct disturbance in the landscape directly in front of her. It looked like something had crashed into it. There was a sudden drop off point and Hinata depressingly thought that this was an ideal place to dump a body.

"Something was definitely thrown here." She conceded.

"Good. My eyesight is not as good as yours, clearly, so I'll take the up top scouting position," As he said that he leapt onto a nearby tree, "while you'll lead the way."

"What about Nayako?"

"I'll be going home." Nayako said and Hinata turned to face her, still not deactivating her Byakugan. Her detailed vision told her that Nayako was not particularly armed with anything more than two razor blades and some sewing needles in one of her jacket pockets.

"What?"

"I'll only be a burden in this rescue. I can't see that well on the ground in this darkness and I can't channel my chakra to walk on the trees. I'll be utterly useless." She said with a wooden smile, but Hinata could see her lungs working harder as she took deeper breaths and blinked more rapidly to push back tears. "That's what happens when you get hit with a large amount of the Nine Tail's chakra and live to tell the tale."

Hinata's eyes widened at the passive confession.

"Naruto?" Hinata whispered in shock. A sudden sense of shame and understanding overtook her as she realized that Nayako would have been looking at the face of the demon that ruined her life and nearly killed her. "I didn't know, but you can't blame him for something like –"

Nayako cut her off with a raised hand. "Forget about it. Kabuto is one of the best medical ninjas right after Tsunade herself. He can definitely heal Hanabi." _If she's still alive_ she left unsaid this time. She pulled Hinata into a hug and whispered, "He's not going to hurt you. But if he does try, use this," Hinata could see her casually slip a razor blade into one of the jacket pockets, "This is more subtle than your kanzashi pins if you want to slit a man's throat. Also, I think that Kabuto is the key for you getting out of this mess with Naruto. He has information." She pulled back. Hinata tried to hide her confusion about Nayako's words.

"Are you going to run?"

"No. I don't have much options and running doesn't make sense anymore. Your father will hunt me down one way or the other. I'll see you back at the okiya." Hinata wondered if what she said was true. She hated not knowing and that was how Nayako always made her feel, like there was always more to it than what it was.

"Will you be alright?" Kabuto asked and Nayako smiled. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"I know." He answered and he smiled at her. Hinata had a hard time figuring out if there was any genuine emotion between those two enigmatic persons.

She watched Nayako trudge back down the dirt road, a shadowy figure fading into the mist. She turned her attention back to Kabuto. "Ready?" He asked with a kind smile. Hinata nodded. "Lead the way, young Hyuuga."

The ground was wet and slippery and despite Hinata seeing every dip and root that could prevent her from making a wrong step, she still had to hold onto the vines from losing her footing on the slippery slope. The next thing she _had_ to learn was how to channel chakra into her feet properly enough that she could walk on the spindly tree branches as Kabuto was so easily doing now. She slid down angling her body sideways and steadied her momentum with the balls of her feet which by now were caked in mud, as she held onto the hanging vines for support. It was a good thing that she had the Byakugan. Her mind ran on Nayako vaguely, but she dismissed the thought as soon as she came to a deep drop off. It was at least a fifty foot drop. She focused her Byakugan, but she could not tell for sure whether Hanabi had been there because the rain had washed away most of any possible evidence and all that remained was the soil slope and scree. She focused and focused and focused and soon she recognized something that was out of place. There were holes in the ground, the kind one would find where crabs would burrow or where someone was leaning heavily on a stick that sunk into the soft ground. It was the only conclusion that Hinata could discern for the pattern of holes that lead off to the right as there was not a crab in sight. She looked and she could see branches that were broken oddly and definitely not naturally.

"She's alive and she's on the move. She's probably hoping to run into a river or something."

"That's what I would do." Kabuto said from his perch on one of the many, tightly packed Havelock trees. "Would you like me to help you down that drop-off?"

She looked down at the steep drop. There was nothing to hold onto and a fall like that could land her in serious trouble when she landed on the fragments of rocks that made up the scree, cleverly covered by the soft top soil. She could see that he was smirking but she realized that he was always smirking. Damn it! She really needed his help. She turned reluctantly, held out her hand and he pulled her up in one sweeping motion, steadying her with his hands on her waist which she promptly pushed away. She was quite surprised, disbelieving that he had that much strength in him. "No, you're just really light." He said to her and she was most surprised that she wore her thoughts for him to see them so plainly. "Get on my back." He commanded.

She wanted to protest about the propriety, but then decided that that really didn't matter in a situation like this where only the trees were her critical witnesses and there were much bigger issues on hand. Besides, she still had that razor blade. He stooped and she climbed onto his back, feeling mightily uncomfortable and thinking of Naruto. _Not that he would care whose back I climbed onto_, she thought depressingly. Trying her best to limit her contact with him as much as possible she leaned back and rested her hands on his shoulders. As soon as he made the jump down into the sheer drop however, she soon found herself gripping him for dear life. Thankfully, he did not laugh, but he still wore his perpetual smirk. He landed smoothly on a branch of tree, and then descended onto the ground where she couldn't get off of him fast enough. He turned to her.

"I hope Sasuke isn't the one that has you so...skittish. Not all men are like that."

She didn't know what to say as she remembered that Naruto had told her Kabuto was one of the most ambiguous ninjas that he'd ever met. He simply couldn't be trusted. She decided to ignore him. Instead she walked ahead a bit and shouted as best as she could,

"HANABI!"

"Primitive, but effective." Kabuto muttered as he leapt onto the branch of a nearby tree, trailing Hinata as she tracked the holes in the ground. She heard no answer to her call, but was terrified to think that there was no answer because Hanabi couldn't answer her. She had to be close by, she just had to be!

She walked on for about five more minutes at a brisk pace, straining her voice hoarse, before Kabuto told her to shut up. She walked forward and was about to tell him something caustic when her Byakugan picked up the image of Hanabi passed out by a tree on the edge of Hinata's seventy yards radius, a few leaves in the shape of a crude tepee covering most of her body. Hinata ran to her.

"Is she dead?" Kabuto suddenly said as he landed next to her. She couldn't tell whether he was hopeful or curious.

"What? Um, no. She's still b-b-b-breathing. But her l-l-l-left side is hurt really b-b-badly. Her ch-ch-chakra system is messed up too, though I don't think that's f-f-f-from the fall."

"Listen to me, Hinata. I need you to be calm. Tell me all that you see. We'll work together with her, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded vehemently, willing to do whatever was necessary to get Hanabi better again. She started telling him slowly all the things that were broken, bruised and sore on Hanabi. He untied Hanabi's tunic and ripped open her tank top with his hands. Hinata blushed for her sister. For a moment he stilled at the sight of the sores.

"I think those sores are a side effect of her breaking my seal."

"Hmm, yes. Nayako did mention something like that." At the mention of Nayako's name Hinata remembered exactly why Hanabi was in such a predicament and her anger came back two-fold, not that it could do her any good now. "She has a blood infection, plus an infection of her chakra system. There are traces of the tea that was given to her in her system and that affects her nervous system. It'll be tricky." He looked Hinata in her eyes, but she couldn't quite make out his. "Are you strong enough to help me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Keep me updated on her status like her breathing, heartbeat, the constriction of her veins, etc."

Hinata nodded grimly and he got to work, his hands glowing green.

Two hours later Hanabi could smell grass and her sister's signature scent. Hinata always smelled like gardenia and lavender. She could barely open her eyes and when she did she saw that her vision was a bit blurry. She blinked again in fear and started to mutter something, but her tongue felt so heavy. Suddenly she could hear Hinata's voice. Her sister was using a placating tone, the one people use when they're trying to talk people from jumping off the edges of buildings. She wanted to tell her sister shut up. She heard another voice, a male voice that she recognized but it seemed odd that his voice would be here. She felt so tired and before she knew it she passed out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Hinata asked as she closed Hanabi's tunic back around her sister's frail body. She too was exhausted. She had deactivated her Byakugan and the tiredness that had been hiding behind her adrenaline had stepped up to the plate.

"She'll be fine. She's just exhausted, is all. We can't travel with her right now, so we'll spend the rest of the night here and we'll move when she can muster up a bit more strength. We'll set up camp. I'll see about sleeping arrangements for our patient. She needs to get off of the forest floor and she needs something over her head in case rain falls again. And she needs water. You want to start looking for some firewood?"

She was tired, but she couldn't exactly say no. It was the least she could do. She got up, activating her Byakugan while she did so. Most of the things in the forest were damp, which was understandable. She used her dojutsu to help her spot the twigs and branches that weren't saturated with water. Those were the ones that had fallen in between other trees or were protected by the rain from those trees that were on an angle. While searching, her mind ran on the words Nayako had told her. Kabuto has information and she could use that information to help her get back Naruto. God, she was so tired of schemes, especially those that had anything to do with Nayako. Still, she wondered what she was referring to.

She returned about twenty minutes later with her hands laden and to see that Kabuto had been quite busy working away in the dim light of the moon and torchlight, building a structure that was off the ground. It was like a raft on a platform tied together with the sturdy vines and branches serving as a thatched roof and bedding. It was amateurish and she could tell that he was a true ninja accustomed to moving on his own and not at all concerned about comfort for himself. Hinata appreciated the effort, but decided that she had no problem sleeping on the ground. She dropped down the firewood and tinder as she saw him delicately lift Hanabi and rest her gently onto the shelter. He flung at Hinata a box of matches that she only caught because she still had on her Byakugan. She lit the wood and at the first sign of smoke she was ecstatic, not realizing how cold she had actually been. She turned and disappeared for another ten minutes as she hunted for a clean water supply. She ended up cutting down calabash gourds to tote water that she got from a nearby brook, thinking that Hanabi was not so far from a water source and she probably knew it, but was too tired to move an inch further. When she returned, she saw that Kabuto had set up a spit and they clumsily hung the gourds above the fire so that it could boil. While waiting for the boiled water to cool, she gently sat down at the base of a tree, taking in the warmth of the fire as she deactivated her Byakugan. Kabuto came to sit next to her and she unconsciously moved a bit away from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said casually. She said nothing, preferring to watch the fire. "This is not the first time that I've healed your sister." _That_ made her look at him. "During the Chuunin exams she was severely beaten by Neji Hyuuga and she had a relapse the day Orochimaru-sama decided to show his hand and attack the Hokage at full force."

"I don't understand you. Why would you help her if you knew the objective your boss had when he declared war on Konoha?" There she was, trying to get information out of him and she hated herself for it. Why couldn't she ignore Nayako's words?

"I like children."

She looked at him trying to gauge whether he was being honest or facetious. She couldn't tell.

"You kicked Naruto when he was down."

"Oh, _that _fight with the Sannins. He also hit me in the chest with a Rasengan. I'd say that makes us even."

Hinata scoffed. "Why did you agree to come back and help Nayako? You're the same person that got someone to dump Hanabi here in the first place. Why the sudden change of heart? Or is it that you are a dog with many masters?"

Kabuto chuckled. "You know, your voice is so delicate that even when you're insulting me it doesn't seem as bad. Orochimaru-sama is the same. He hardly ever raises his voice, not even to put that rude little brat in his place. I can't wait until he serves his purpose."

"Do you mean Sasuke-san?" She ventured.

"Yes, Sasuke-san." He said in a mocking tone.

"You don't like him?"

"I have trouble discerning his purpose."

"Doesn't your boss want to use him as a vessel?"

"Wow, Naruto talks a lot." He chanced a look at her, but she didn't rise to his bait. He continued, "Yes, Orochimaru-sama wants to use Sasuke as a vessel, but as far as I'm concerned we really only need Sasuke's eyes. We _could_ get another body. Now, if we needed to develop a new jutsu based on rude comments and blank death stares, then Sasuke would be an invaluable weapon of mass destruction."

Hinata got a pinched up expression on her face as she tried not to laugh.

"He's probably in love with you or something like it." That sure sobered her up; her expression hardening right before his eyes. "You know that what happened between you two last night isn't over, right? He'll show up in your life again."

"I do not care for him nor do I have any interest in him as a person, as a ninja, nor as a suitable excuse for hair. I do not care. He's in love with me? Last night he kissed me and told me that if I screamed he'd bite off my tongue. He's in love with me? Well, he sure doesn't know how to show it. I've never seen anyone be so bad at anything and not die from it."

Kabuto looked at her and threw back his head and laughed. "You're surprisingly funny; disarmingly so. I heard that you're planning on heading back to Konoha to get back your Naruto-kun." He said as he looked at her. She gave him a suspicious side glance.

"Sometimes, you look at me like I'm worse than a snake in the grass. I should probably let you know that Orochimaru-sama is not the real enemy, the Akatsuki is. Have you heard of the name?"

"I only know what Naruto and the Kazekage have told me, that they were the ones responsible for the attack on the Kazekage over a month ago."

"That's all they told you?"

"Is there more to know?" She looked up at him, her eyes deliberately curious, her expression somewhat nervous and desperate. She decided that she wouldn't let on that she knew the Akatsuki were after Jinchuurikis. It would make him feel that he knew better and give credence to her act.

"The Akatsuki is a criminal organization of S-class missing nin. The Akatsuki's ultimate goal is that of gaining world domination. There exists a three-step process to work their way towards this goal. First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organisation. Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki. To build their reputation, they plan to accept any mission below the usual cost and operate off of the excess funds earned in the first part of their plan. Because there haven't been any wars in some time, the established shinobi villages can't afford to charge such low prices, leading the smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages. By using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki would start wars and then immediately quell them, solidifying their reputation and convincing every country to depend on them, thus cornering the market in shinobi labour. Without any business, the other shinobi villages would collapse due to the lack of funds. Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries."

"How do you know this?"

"Just something I heard." He replied casually as if he were telling her the latest town gossip.

She said nothing for a while. She got up and took up a calabash of water. It was cooled by now. She looked over at Hanabi and wondered if she should wake her. She did, gently rousing her as she climbed onto the precarious structure. Hanabi was a bit delirious it appeared and was mumbling things along the lines of, 'I didn't leave you. I tried to come back' and then 'Daddy, I'm so sorry. I'm your daughter too.' It was difficult to understand as her words came out a bit heavy and garbled, but Hinata understood. She shushed her and let her take very small sips of the water. She carefully climbed back down from the structure and turned to face Kabuto.

"Orochimaru was part of that group, wasn't he?"

Kabuto smiled, his glasses glinted in the weak moonlight that shone between the leaves. "Yes, he was, at one point in time. He didn't agree with their policies so he left." He lied.

"He didn't agree with the Akatsuki's idea of seizing world power?" She asked incredulously. "I thought that's what he was all about."

"Only those who risk going too far, know how far they can go and not go. Orochimaru-sama knows what the lines are that he shouldn't cross."

"That would be a lot more inspirational if Orochimaru wasn't risking going too far with _others_."

"Good point." He chuckled.

She didn't say anything for a while. She instead looked over in Hanabi's direction, letting him think that listening to him was only a distraction for the other thought that consumed her mind. Well, it was kind of true. She wasn't worried about Hanabi anymore, but was busy trying to push back thoughts of Naruto. She sighed loudly as she sat back down and hugged her knees close to her chest, resting the calabash to the side of her.

"She'll be fine." He said, but she didn't look up at him. "She's considerably luckier than Nayako. Nayako never recovered from having her chakra system shredded by the Nine Tails. Hanabi has a lot of months of intensive rehabilitation ahead of her, but she'll be fine."

She couldn't help but notice that his tone for Nayako was different. He respected her and it showed in his tone, unlike when he spoke of Orochimaru, whom he respected as well, but it seemed more obsequious. Hinata sighed again and stared at her shoes. She would have liked to believe that she had given him enough chain. If she appeared too eager to listen to what he had to say, then he would question her motives. If she appeared only concerned with her sister, he would consider emotional and myopic. She said quietly,

"I haven't known her for very long. And at best our relationship has been...different. She didn't like Nayako. Nayako didn't like her. I wavered between hating them both and being grateful for their presence. There were times when we both decided that we hated Nayako. And then there would be times when Nayako and I both viewed Hanabi as an outsider and we would be cold to her. The dynamics were always at odds; shifting to best fit the mood and the situation, when it was most advantageous to each. She and Nayako did not like each other at all, but they worked together to achieve what they wanted. You know how they say; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But still...I do care for her, for them."

She waited for him to digest that. She didn't dare look up.

"I can see why Sasuke would like you. You're very unassuming, but very smart."

Panic flooded her and she wondered whether he was onto her intentions. She looked up at him with that uncomprehending sheep look on her face.

"In your situation what do you think would have been the most strategic move?" He asked.

She nodded, but said nothing for a few moments. "It would be most advantageous if I had teamed up with Hanabi to get rid of Nayako." She looked him in the eyes.

"Quite perceptive, for hindsight."

Here was the time for her to play her hand.

"You say that Akatsuki is the real enemy? What would be the most strategic move then?"

He looked at her, but she didn't look at him instead turning her attention to the fire. She was glad that he did not possess the Byakugan and could see how fast her heart rate was. She wished she had Nayako's natural sangfroid.

She said nothing about the subject again and neither did he. But both knew that it was on each other's minds.

Morning came, but neither Kabuto nor Hinata had slept. Hinata had hardly slept ever since Naruto left her. She dismissed the thought and focused on the present as it was one way that was helping her deal. Kabuto lifted Hanabi onto his back and for a few brief groggy moments, she was awake, but quickly passed out again. They snuffed out the fire and destroyed the makeshift bed. Unfortunately, rain chose to fall at that moment and they took off for the okiya wet and in a bad mood. When they reached the okiya he gently pushed open the gate and walked upstairs to Nayako's room like he knew the way and Hinata guessed that he probably did. He gave a small knock, then they heard Nayako's voice telling them to enter. Hinata was most surprised to see Nayako sitting in her side chair and dressed in her geisha attire, wearing a deep burgundy kimono with gold trimming and a white obi. Even her hair was now done up in the split peach hairstyle. A look of relief flooded her face when she saw Hinata.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alright." She breathed out.

"Hanabi's alright too." Hinata pointed out.

"Thank goodness for that too." She mumbled.

"She's just a child, Nayako-san, a child." Hinata said, uncomprehending that someone would dare to break the unbreakable rule that one simply did not hurt children – they were off limits. Nayako avoided Hinata's gaze.

Kabuto turned and gently laid Hanabi on the futon as he rattled off instructions for post-operation care. He turned around to see Hinata in a Dogeza pose already saying her thanks to him. However, by the time she looked up, he was gone. Hinata activated her Byakugan and she saw him already leaping over the okiya's high stone walls. But she was most surprised to see that he had left a note in one of her pockets. It said,

_Meeting with Akatsuki member, Sasori of the Red Sand, at the Bridge of Heaven and Earth one week from today_.

Nayako took her out of her musings. "I'll call in a maid to help you sponge off Hanabi. You get washed. We leave for Konoha in an hour."

"You're coming with me?" Hinata asked surprised.

"Of course. I'm hoping that you remember the kindness that I have shown you and that you will beg for me."

Hinata stared at her, knowing full well that Nayako was up to something.

* * *

Tsunade looked up at Shikamaru when he indicated that he had finished reading the letter.

"Are you sure that you can trust her? We don't know her." He asked.

"My opinion on her is based on multiple sources."

"Naruto being the main source?" Tsunade smiled a bit guiltily, though Shikamaru and the entire village knew that the Hokage had a soft spot for Naruto. "Does he know that she sent this letter? Does he know that she's coming back?"

"No. Do you think that Kabuto's admission of that information is a set up to get rid of Naruto for the Akatsuki?"

"I think it's exactly as Hinata made it sound. Kabuto's not stupid, neither is Orochimaru. They're not going to waste the opportunity to let someone else like Konoha get rid of Akatsuki. He's hoping that this little piece of information will make us 'trust' him and attack Sasori at the bridge."

"I suppose he didn't factor into account that Sasori is already dead."

"No, it probably never crossed his mind. His note to Hinata proved that, though it seems that she does know. Naruto must have told her about Sasori's death. I don't think she knew exactly what she was doing, just knowing that she was supposed to fish for information, any information. Unknowingly however, I think that she planted in his mind the idea to use Team Kakashi and the rest of Konoha to thin Akatsuki's numbers. The information is late, but I suppose it helped you confirm Sasori's story. With training she'd be good, though." He mumbled the last part to himself.

"Yes. She affected an air of intelligence, yet naiveté, but with just the right amount of cunning to make him trust her. But you're right. She needs training to be a better spy."

"It wasn't affected. I think that's who she is."

"Quite different from Naruto, huh?"

"Quite. But they are complimentary. They're a good pair. She's good for him."

Tsunade nodded, but said nothing, her mind working out possibilities.

* * *

Naruto didn't like the position he was in. As usual, Sasuke was looking down at him, though this time it wasn't just an intellectual condescension, but Sasuke was _actually_ standing above him as he was perched at the edge of the crater, forcing Naruto from his position inside of the crater to look up at his rival. Dreaded disappointment gripped Naruto from the depths of his soul. Sasuke had muscles now. And a katana. And where the hell was that wind coming from that had his hair blowing back just so? Sasuke seemed to have soaked in a bath of cool and had emerged glistening and effulgent with coolness dripping everywhere from him. Life was so unfair, Naruto silently lamented, as Kyuubi Killjoy laughed heartily in the background at his host's wretched disenchantment with himself.

Sakura was simply standing there all saucer-eyed with shock and probably exhaustion until Sai tried to get the jump on Sasuke. It did not go well. In fact, it went the opposite of well. This impelled Naruto to do something, anything, breathe at least and that's when it happened. Sasuke had somehow managed to find himself inside of Naruto's subconscious and was face to face with the malevolent Nine Tailed Fox in his cavernous prison. After realizing that stranger things had actually happened to him, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said,

"This is a serious invasion of personal space."

Sasuke ignored him as he looked at the palatial sized dark room that mysteriously had water on the floor and even more mysteriously had two large, vicious and bloodcurdling pair of eyes leering out at him from the darkness beyond him.

"First my girl and now my subconscious?" Naruto said and _that_ made Sasuke look at his former teammate. "You could have any girl you wanted, why'd it have to be her?"

"She has something, something that I –" he cut off, unsure of how to say why Hinata drew him in; afraid to _admit_ why Hinata drew him in. He was not even sure why he bothered to answer.

"Something? Something like what?"

Sasuke scoffed and turned his head from Naruto, knowing full well that Naruto already knew the answer to his own question.

"Why?" Naruto asked, "Is it that you wanted to hurt me?"

"This has never been about you. My quest for Itachi has nothing to do with you. My relationship with Hinata has nothing to do with you."

"You have no _relationship_ with Hinata!" Naruto shouted with intense asperity. A stomach-plummeting, spine-chilling growl filled the echoing room with sinister intent. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto and it was then that Naruto saw it when Sasuke spoke next,

"You're still weak and you'll die stupidly. And Hinata too given that she's in love with an idiot like you, which is a shame."

Naruto smirked. "She must have really stomped on your heart, huh?"

For the first time in years since he had last seen Sasuke, he saw not the vacuous stare of raw hatred, but he saw that plus more. He saw acute jealousy. He knew the look well in both himself and in Sasuke. He knew what a driving force it could be. And he knew in that moment that Sasuke was in love with Hinata and just like him, whether he accepted it or not, he was not going to give her up.

Naruto wondered if there was any hope for them, if there was anything left of the friendship between them with which he could use. Deep down he knew that he had already lost Sasuke, but he was not yet ready to admit it. Though he knew that Sasuke might be stronger, faster, better at the moment, Naruto knew that he was Hinata's choice, and by God as his witness he was not going to lose her too. He was about to declare it melodramatically, when the Kyuubi spoke up and effectively stole the show talking about how awesomely vile and sinister Sasuke was. Get a room, Naruto cynically thought. It had all ended too soon and they were back on the outside, sun blaring down at them. And then there was Kabuto and Orochimaru with their perpetual smirks and then they were gone.

An amalgam of emotions stirred within Naruto – disappointment for both himself and Sasuke, relief, annoyance, anger, confusion. He sighed heavily. Another failed Sasuke mission. And it was then that he experienced an overriding, but fleeting sense of apathy. For a brief moment he really couldn't give two shakes about Sasuke. It was quite liberating as his mind was filled with more important things – like getting back with Hinata. His stupid overactive conscience soon brought back his feelings of guilt and failure that was connected with Sasuke, but overall, he thought about Hinata. He purposely shoved Sasuke to the back of his brain because to be honest, Naruto was on the road to finally admitting that Sasuke was a waste of his fucking time. He should focus on things that really mattered like friends that truly cared - Gaara and Sakura and the one person that he could be completely honest with and who had a love for him more powerful than life – Hinata. He had to get back to Konoha as soon as possible to ask Granny Tsunade for permission to leave for Kumo.

* * *

Nayako knew that this was her last chance; she just knew it as their kago quietly filed into Konoha in the silence of night. She was sitting directly opposite Hanabi and next to Hinata. It was a simple journey, without the entourage they had had when she and Hinata had fled to Suna. She had insisted that Hinata wear a very ornate navy blue kimono that had gold filigree. It was cumbersome. She would not be able to catch her, since Nayako herself was wearing a simple all black kimono of a lighter silk. Two weeks had passed but Hanabi had not fully recovered and it would be a while still. Hanabi may not have been properly healed yet, but Nayako knew that the little girl was scheming, plotting. The last two weeks were awkward at best, a paranoia-filled road trip from hell at worst. No one spoke much and ever so often someone would turn and see another looking at them, plotting, scheming. Nayako knew that she didn't have much time. She should have fled earlier when they were still in Kumo.

Hanabi used a crutch and she still couldn't channel chakra without incurring pain. Her crutch was lying next to her but they had hit a bump in the road five minutes back and the crutch had slipped and had hit Nayako hard in the kneecap. Hanabi had smirked. Nayako said nothing, only moving the crutch to the side, _her _side. From this angle, it wouldn't take much to take the crutch and drive it into the side of Hanabi's throat, smashing the promontory of the thyrax. She could then run and run fast. She looked at Hanabi, whose head was tilted back, her eyes closed. She looked at the crutch. Suddenly, Hinata leaned over and positioned the crutch to Hanabi's side. Nayako looked up at her. Hanabi did not move.

"It's what I would have done, Nayako-san." Hinata said.

Nayako gave her a tight smile as she cursed in her mind. Hanabi smirked.

"Father is going to love meeting you." Hanabi said. Nayako ignored her.

Nayako looked at Hinata who had continued to stare out the window into the dark and silent night. _She used to be naive_, Nayako thought, _but now she has experienced heartbreak and disappointment, and knows now that she is not the only one, that she is connected to the rest of the world through that experience, and through that she has grown up._

It was three o'clock in the morning and he was standing in the Hokage's office. His mind ran on arbitrary things like the fact that the entire office had one seat and it was hers. If you thought that you might keel over, as he was feeling like he would at any moment now, then hard luck. He supposed that if he was desperate he could take up a seat on one of the many piles of paperwork there was. Of course, the floor always existed.

Hiashi couldn't believe that he was thinking about seating arrangements at a time like this, but he supposed that he was anxious to distract his mind from the reality of the situation. He was in the Hokage's office surrounded by the Hokage herself, Shizune, Neji, Shikamaru and mysteriously enough, Kakashi and Guy. It was a situation that was still difficult to accept. Two weeks ago he had been busy dodging dates with the intention of marriage that Grandmother insisted he attend. Now, now he was standing here waiting for the daughters he had presumed dead to show up...alive. He should have been feeling elated. But time had taught him to be cautious and instead he stood there looking grim, expecting the worse. When the door opened, he stopped breathing, his lips pursed, his eyes narrowed.

Izumo and Kotetsu walked in and Hiashi let out his breath that he hadn't realized that he was holding; silently cursing them and their poor timing. Then when he was completely unprepared, in walked Hanabi, followed by Hinata and they took his breath away. He was so shocked he didn't even notice Nayako there. Distantly, he heard the Hokage dismiss Izumo and Kotetsu.

Hinata felt as if she were intruding on some private family affair and then remembered that this was _her_ private, family affair. So, this is the man that I shall call Father, she thought. He was tall, fair and with broad shoulders. His face was handsome, muscular; his mouth had no laugh lines around it and she suspected why. His eyes were the whitest white Hinata had ever seen, and then she realized it was really a very bright and incredibly light blue that was so blinding it looked white. He looked proper, like a man who liked things to be taken care of, but could be trouble if necessary.

She hung back trying, like Nayako, to blend into the wall. She was quite good at it usually. She remembered what Hanabi had said to her in the forest. She had never brought it up, though she suspected Hanabi remembered what had been said. She turned her head, feeling awkward to see Hanabi hug her father. Even with everything that happened Hinata had never seen Hanabi look as vulnerable as she did now. All she really wanted was her father's attention, appreciation and love. The sisters shared something strong now and not just their common dislike for Nayako. No, it was something intangible, yet thick. It was strange to describe but if she had to say how she felt about Hanabi she might say that she didn't like her, but she did love her. Strange, all those years she had the same feelings towards Nayako, as a sister, as that was what a family was for some people. She hated that the feeling was still there, though this time she _hated_, yet loved her geisha sister. She hated that she simultaneously loved and hated her.

Her musings were a comfortable distraction but the time had come and he was staring at her. She didn't know what to say or what to do, so she started doing that thing she did with her fingers. The room was too bright and too hot.

"Hinata-chan?" Hiashi said. Hinata looked up. There were too many people in the room. Her face turned red. To the side of her father Hanabi was leaning on her crutch, trying her best to keep her tears from forming. Hinata wished she was somewhere else. "Hinata-chan?" Hiashi called his daughter's name again, his head and heart flooding with memories of his shy baby girl. His lower lip trembled.

Hinata took a few steps forward and Hiashi cautiously mimicked her. She looked up at him.

God! She grew up! She grew up, he repeated in his head.

"Otou-san." She whispered as she looked up at him. He was blinking rapidly and she suspected that he was trying to hold back tears. Suddenly all she saw was black as he pulled her into a tight hug. She stiffened, but then relaxed. She would get to know this man. She would learn to call him father and mean it just as how she had learned to call Hanabi little sister and mean it.

Tsunade cleared her throat and said,

"And who are you?"

Everyone turned to look at Nayako. She felt cornered, but she didn't back away. She looked defiantly at the room and her face landed on Kakashi. She remembered him. He was the boy with the mask that had rescued her when she was struck with the Nine Tails' chakra. He had been her saviour and all these years, whenever she thought of needing help, his image always came to mind. They locked eyes, but she broke contact first. For some reason she kept drawing her eyes to Hinata.

"You are the one that kidnapped my eldest daughter and tried to kill my youngest." Hiashi said. His voice was steady now, cruel.

"In the end," Nayako spoke slowly, her words cautious, but not frightened. She was still looking at Hinata. "I'm the one that saved your daughters."

It happened too quickly and he finally figured the reason for Kakashi's and Guy's presence. They were quick to stop him, but not quickly enough, but he got her where it hurt the most.

Nayako's screams filled the office. She flailed about like a fish out of water.

"Good Lord, Hiashi you said that you'd have some control!" Shouted the Hokage above Nayako's screams of pain. "Guy, Neji! Get him out of here!"

"Hinata-chan and Hanabi-chan, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that you had to see that, but I had to..." Hiashi said, his expression steely, his eyes teary. He was _calm_ as if he waited all his life to do that. Hinata stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed as Guy and Neji quietly led Hiashi out of the room.

"Shizune, see if you could salvage her eyes! God! He didn't even use the Gentle Fist."

"He did." Shizune said as she scrambled to pick up the rolling right eye ball on the ground, while in her hand she examined the partially crushed other eye ball. "There's no saving her eyes, Tsunade-sama. He killed everything."

Nayako writhed and bawled for Hinata. Hinata had been standing there with her eyes wide with shock. She didn't know how to feel or how to act as she had never seen justice exacted like that before. She ran to Nayako who was still flailing and only stopped when she felt Hinata's hands around her. She gripped onto Hinata.

"Nayako-san, shh, shh."

Nayako's breath came in hitched gasps. Hinata could barely look at her, with the blood trailing down her face from where there were only vacant holes; her mouth stretched in agony. Quietly, Shizune came up to Nayako and injected her with a strong sedative. Her grip on Hinata slackened and Kakashi caught her before she hit the ground. He scooped her up into his hands just like he had almost fifteen years ago. He remembered her. He remembered that she had had one of the most beautiful faces that he had ever seen even at such a young age. He had always wondered what happened to her and whether he would see her again.

"Shizune, oversee the patient at the hospital." Tsunade ordered, her voice tired.

Hinata was in shock. Tsunade had to call her name twice. She looked back at the Hokage, confused.

"Your father isn't always like that." Tsunade said calmly. "And I'm sorry that you two had to witness that impression of him." Hinata only just remembered Hanabi, who was wearing a satisfied smirk on her face. "It's just that he has been broken and scarred for over ten years now, harbouring rage and regret. He is not that man that you just saw. He has another side. Please don't judge him on this alone."

"I know, Hokage-sama. Everyone has more than one side. Nayako-san is not just wicked and scheming. She has more sides to her than that. And I know that...that Father is more than that too. She did wrong, but I...I don't want to judge her or him."

Tsunade nodded gravely, but was relieved that Hinata at least understood that, though she recognized that Hinata was also dropping words for her little sister. She sighed heavily before she spoke.

"Hinata, are you tired?" Hinata shook her head. "Good. This is Nara Shikamaru." Hinata turned to see the tall boy with his hair in a pony tail and looking like he was just about to fall asleep on himself. Naruto had mentioned him before. She gave him a low bow. He nodded. "I have some things that I want to speak to you about, but first I have to speak with Hanabi here." Hinata looked over at Hanabi who looked like she was expecting that. "You can have a seat outside and Shikamaru here will fill you in on some of the things we wanted to speak to you about."

Shikamaru leaned off the wall and walked ahead to open the door for Hinata. "Does trouble follow you everywhere?" He asked when she reached the door.

"All the time, Shikamaru-san." She muttered.

"Me too, Hinata-chan, me too."

He closed the door right after she heard the Hokage say,

"So, Hanabi. Explain to me in great detail why you decided to fake your own death and head up to Kumo without seeing it fit to inform me."

"Um..." It was the first time Hinata had heard Hanabi falter. But if she was honest, Tsunade-sama was scary!

* * *

Not for the life of him could Naruto understand why Granny Tsunade was being such a bitch. He begged, pleaded, grovelled and bribed and still she told him that he couldn't have permission to go to Kumo. She kept telling him that he was emotionally unstable from going Four Tails on Orochimaru and from the failed meeting with Sasuke. He kept telling _her_ that he was feeling emotionally unstable right now listening to the crap that she was telling him. It was only when she bodily lifted him and threw him out the window of the Hokage's office he understood that one, she really was freakishly strong and that two, maybe she wasn't joking and she really didn't want him to go back to Kumo. But why? He explained the situation to her. How could she be so insensitive?

He mumbled and grumbled all the way home. Well, he didn't go straight home. He stopped off to see Iruka-sensei. He had a mini-training lesson with Konohamaru. He saw Lee and ended up conversing with him. And then there was this guy with a monkey on the street...All in all it took him three hours before he reached his crappy apartment on the eastern side of the Village some time near three o'clock. When he walked up the rickety and grimy steps, careful not to accidentally touch an exposed, overhead electrical wire, he noticed that his door was not locked. He could think of no one who would want to break into his house seeing as how most of the villagers tended to treat that side of the Village as some sort of forbidden District 9 quarantined area. He pulled out a kunai and casually swung back the door.

Hinata looked up at him from where she was sitting on the bed. "Naruto-san...hello."

Naruto stared at her in shock. Silently he promised to stop by the Yamanaka flower shop later to get something really nice to make up for the horrible things he had said to and about Granny Tsunade in the last four hours. Quietly he walked in, closing the door behind him and replacing the kunai in his weapons pouch. Nervously, he told Hinata hi.

"You've been waiting here long?"

"It's okay, I kept myself occupied." He looked around at the now spotlessly clean and neat room. "I brought you some food, if you're hungry."

"Thanks." He glanced at the many covered bowls of food on the little round table.

"I m-m-m-made it myself."

"I appreciate it." He gave her a slight smile. "I've never tasted your cooking before."

They said nothing for a while as awkwardness lumbered in to settle between them. She was wearing a lightweight lavender silk kimono with a simple white sash for the obi. As usual she wore tabi, but her hair was not done up in the traditional Wareshinobu hairstyle, but was loose all around her. After a while, he said,

"Wow, I've always wondered how you would look in my room."

"Well?"

"You just made the room look ten times better."

"Well I did clean up a bit."

He chuckled and she smiled and he felt a lot more at ease. Suddenly she was at his feet in a Dogeza pose, her forehead grazing the ground, her fingers poised perfectly to complete her look of complete submission.

"Naruto-san, may I please be permitted to apologize for –"

He bent down to raise her head. She looked up at him with huge, doleful eyes. He pulled her up from the floor.

"Look, I know that we left off on sorta bad terms, but don't tell me we're back to using the formalities. We're better than that, right? Right?"

"I hope so."

He took up a seat on the only chair in the room, the chair that was at the small round table, and she sat back down on the bed.

"Look, I was wrong. I should have... I shouldn't have..."

"You haven't done anything wrong, Naruto. I was the one –"

"Nope, let me finish." He said gently.

"No, let me finish." She said a little more forcefully. He acquiesced. "My life was a particular way before I met you. I did what I was told and I was expected to lead a certain life. I knew certain things. I knew Nayako, I knew the okiya and I knew the men that I entertained. Every night I saw all of the same men. They were different, but the same. They all had the same hunger in their eyes, the same banal talk, the same insincerity. I had a fair idea of what my life was going to turn out to be. I would become an average geisha (I never had much motivation to put much effort into it) and I would have an average danna, probably a businessman, maybe a well off ninja. But then I met you. You were a relief from all those other horrible people. You have this unwavering confidence that I was drawn to. I couldn't even see properly back then, but I could see that you were a great guy. You didn't treat me as if I were lesser than you or like I was insignificant or just the pretty girl to look at for the night. You made me feel...better, all the time. And things were going so great between us. But then...people started to interfere."

"Nayako? Hanabi? Sasuke?"

"They all had their plans for me. And then everything snowballed, as they say, and I didn't know how to stop it. I couldn't stand everything, but I didn't know how to stop it. I hated myself for pretending that I was in control when really I was hiding from the problem. I wanted to talk to you and tell you what was on my mind, but I was in too deep and away from you. The more they came entangled in my life, the further away from you I was getting. They were all glad in some way that I was with you as it made it easier for them. It meant that I would do anything not to lose you.

"But in the end, when everything fell apart and I had some time to think, I realized that I really had only myself to blame. I was naive and stupid and I wasn't doing anything for myself. I always liked you because you knew what you wanted in life and you're confident enough to go after it. Your dream of becoming Hokage is not just to prove to everyone that you're more than the dead last ninja, but that dream is something you had to prove to yourself. And I've admired that about you. You've changed me. And even though I regret a lot about what happened between us, I also am glad that it happened. It made me see just how far I had fallen from you, how far I had fallen from myself. I wasn't living up to the person that I admired the most and I definitely wasn't living for myself. I blamed Nayako, I blamed Hanabi, I blamed Sasuke-san. I even blamed you. I was hoping that you would see the incongruities and ask me, _really_ ask me, what was going on, who was I talking to? But in the end what happened between us is no one's fault but my own."

"Well, maybe it's a little bit of Nayako's, Hanabi's and Sasuke's fault."

"Well, maybe a little."

They shared a slight, uneasy smile.

"You're not the only one to blame in this," He said somberly. "You were right though, I have to take some blame in this. Gaara pointed it out to me. I was insecure about losing you, so I said nothing. I was jealous of all the other men in your life, so I put you in an awkward position. I should have known better. I should have known that you were better than that."

"I've disappointed you?"

"No. The more I think about it, I should be disappointed in myself. _I_ should have known better. I'm an idiot. I refused to think things through and at the same time, I over-thought things. The more I think about it I realize that I should be...grateful, honoured, awed that there is someone like you who loves me enough to want to do everything that you did for me. I too learned something from everything that happened between us. I learnt that I have true friends like, Gaara. He truly is a good friend. And I learnt that I don't want to lose you again. I might not be good enough for you – "

"Don't ever say that." She said sharply. "It's the other way around."

"I'll stop saying it if you stop thinking that you're not good enough for me."

She smiled and blushed.

"I'm sorry," he said, "For everything."

"I'm sorry too. I love you."

It was the first time that she had said to him. His eyes opened wide and an indescribable feeling of happiness and satisfaction invaded him.

"Come over here."

She rose and went to him and he rose to meet her halfway. He tilted her head to him and looked into her eyes. She was blushing and he remembered the first time that he had kissed her. He kissed her gently and she clung to him desperately, intensely. She pulled apart from him and moved back.

"What? I had some Ramen earlier? Is it that, because I can go brush my teeth."

"No, it's not that." She said shaking her head at him as she laughed, but soon her expression turned serious.

"What is it, Hina?"

"Naruto, I want us to have a good life."

"Me too," He said cautiously, afraid of what she was about to say.

"But the Akatsuki is hunting you."

He shrugged. "So?"

"I met Kabuto Yakushi some time ago and he told me about his meeting at the Bridge of Heaven and Earth." Naruto's eyes bulged in shock. He had an expression that clearly said, 'Go onnnn.'

Hinata explained to him in painstaking detail everything that happened since she last saw him. He didn't know what to say about Nayako losing her eyes. It was cruel, but he still felt nothing except maybe slight pity and a bit of guilt after learning the reason why she hated him. He didn't want to the judge of the things she did.

"So what does all of this mean?"

"The Hokage thinks that despite everything that happened, Nayako-san, Hanabi and myself would be useful to her if we set up shop as geishas in Amegakure where it is rumoured that the Akatsuki leader is hiding out. She wants us to spy. We've been recruited."

"WHAT! Is Granny Tsunade out of her fucking mind!"

"She thinks that I would be an excellent spy because no one expects me to be one." Hinata continued calmly, "Hanabi is already on her way to becoming better, stronger and despite her methods; the Hokage agrees that Hanabi was skilled at deception, infiltration and adaptability. And though the Hokage was not anticipating Nayako's...injury, she still thinks that Nayako is quite accomplished at deception and would be helpful to us as a consultant of sorts. Kakashi-san didn't mind going with us, but the Hokage is reluctant to let one of her best Jounins leave the Village for such a long term mission."

"But – What about your father? Doesn't he want you to be the heir? You just got back, he can't be willing to let you go?" He asked, desperate to avoid the one question he truly wanted to ask.

"This comes from the Hokage and is a mission that is for the greater good of not just you, but for the entire Shinobi world. He doesn't like it, but he understands. I'm not like you, Naruto, in the sense that I did have a family of sorts growing up – the okiya and Nayako. The discovery of this whole other family is great, but...I don't feel like I belong to that family yet. I feel like I'm in limbo. I don't feel bad about leaving to go to Amegakure. Father and I have a long way to go, especially after what I saw him do to Nayako. I know his reasons behind his actions, but I've also known Nayako as a sister despite all the things she's done. It's...complicated."

Naruto nodded in understanding, knowing that a relationship between Hiashi and Hinata would take a long time to be built. But he had to continue with his objections.

"But you're eyes...the tables have turned and now Nayako is the blind geisha. You can't use that schtick anymore. You'd be too vulnerable."

"I've been learning to take care of myself. And Hanabi will be there."

"Uh she wasn't there when Sasuke tried to have his way with you." He correctly pointed out.

"That wasn't her fault really. Plus, she has learnt from her mistakes." Hinata replied simply.

"But what about...what about us?"

"I'm doing this _for_ us and for myself"

"Hinata this is too dangerous."

"Do you not believe in me?"

"Of course I believe in you, but –"

"I am more than just a geisha and you are more than just a Jinchuuriki. Naruto, I feel as if this is my purpose. I am both geisha and ninja for a reason."

"But you could be killed being a ninja!"

"You too." She rightly pointed out.

He moved past her to sit on the bed. She came to stand in front of him and he leaned his head against her stomach. She rubbed her hands through his hair.

"Naruto, my life has taken so many dramatic turns. It's like reading a book where you get to choose your own ending. I could have been rescued from Kumo, grown up in Konoha and the end result is that I would have been a ninja that would have had to take unpleasant missions, but I would have still met you. We might not be what we are now but we might have been good friends. But that didn't happen. Somehow despite living the life of the geisha, my ninja life seemed to never be very far behind me. It was inevitable that I become a ninja. And I think it's inevitable that we will stay together. Look at how you found me."

"But I don't...I can't afford to lose you."

"I think that no matter what, we will be together. You found me all the way in Kumo. And just look at us now. We've found each other again."

He looked up at her. "I suppose you're right. We belong together."

She nodded happily, until he said suddenly,

"Do you know that Sasuke is in love with you?"

Hinata suppressed a groan. She really wished that people would stop bringing that up. "And what are your thoughts on that?" She asked cautiously.

"I think that it sucks to be him."

Hinata burst out laughing. "And why is that?"

"Because while he's snuggling up with Orochimaru and Kabuto, I'm snuggling up with you."

He smiled mischievously and pulled her down onto the bed with him and she laughed. He kissed her passionately, but slowly and she returned it with fervour. There couldn't be enough eye contact or skin on skin, no matter how hard they tried. They just couldn't get close enough to each other, that was how much they wanted each other. Naruto forced himself to stop kissing her. Knowing where this was headed, he looked at her and asked,

"Hinata, are you sure? Your father will kill me if he finds out. And Nayako may be blind, but I know that she won't rest until she at least chops off my arm or another extremity is she finds out what we did."

Hinata giggled and leaned up to kiss him.

"It doesn't matter whether it happens now or later. We belong together and will remain together, no matter what."

They looked at each other, joy brimming and bubbling over within them. All his fears left him and he was certain that she was right. Everything would be alright. He kissed her as his hands untied her obi and he let his hands slip under her kimono. He knew that everything was going to work out fine because they belonged together. He believed it. And she believed it too.

* * *

**A/N**: Well as they say: That's all folks! Yay me! Another finished fic. My lovely beta has pointed out that this story has the potential to go in so many different directions – the Hyuuga clan, the mission in Amegakure, the war, Sasuke and his 'relationship' with Hinata, etc. Alas, I have no intention of writing any sequels, but do feel free to write them, just PM me so that I could read them.

Epilogue? Working on it...maybe.


	23. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N**: For those of you who wanted more. If you who don't like lemons, I suggest you ignore this. Though, there are some tidbits of what happened to Hinata and Sasuke afterwards.

Thanks go to my lovely, darling beta: **Ookami88**

**Edited: 2013 June 29**

Ten years later with so many things changed and so many things staying the same.

It was dark, sometime near two o'clock in the morning and it was chilly, the wind tickling the hairs at the back of her neck, giving her goosebumps. She smiled as she remembered how much he loved to bite, an erotic manoeuvre she had no problem with. She had admitted to him that seeing the 'line of jewels' his teeth left at her neck and the small of her back always reminded her of the first time he had bitten her. It was scary, but exciting at the same time. He had laughed and called her kinky. She laughed and corrected him that that wasn't kinky. He had given her a raised eyebrow demanding a physical demonstration on exactly what was. She was a Geisha and was therefore happy to indulge him. Hinata soon found herself blushing at the memory.

Silently she made her way up the steps to the second floor. She couldn't see them and she couldn't be bothered to activate her dojutsu and look for them, but she knew that the ANBU were there. They were always there. They came with the job. She looked up to her right and could only see some pinpoint lights of the houses in the village and the imposing trees that framed them. She smiled and waved at no one in particular since she couldn't see them. A glint in the moonlight was their form of acknowledging the greeting. She continued quietly making her way to the second floor of the Hokage Tower, her left hand tapping the metal railing. That reminder her, and she pulled out from her bosom of her elaborate kimono a small, gold band which she slipped onto her finger. She continued tapping her hand, her wedding ring now softly pinging and echoing against the steel. Sometimes, she could hardly believe that she had been married for five years.

The door had been left open. Things were so different in times of peace. Vaguely she remembered when she had jumped in front of Pein to stop him from hurting Naruto. And then there was the war. It wasn't easy being a spy leading up to that war, working as part of Jiraiya-sama's network. The numerous times she was almost caught… And then her role on the battlefield… She dismissed the thought and focused on the opened door, not that anyone would be stupid enough to try to break into the Hokage's home. And besides, he had been expecting her. She had written to tell him that her mission in Kumo had been curtailed by an unforeseen circumstance. He had been ecstatic. To hell with the mission. He had missed her. She stepped into their living room and turned on the light. It was a mess. She shook her head in amused exasperation. There was paperwork everywhere. He had grossly underestimated the amount of paperwork the Hokage had to do. Later, she would help him. Something caught her attention. On the coffee table was a small, opened envelope with the Hyuuga crest on it. She took it up and read the letter. It was a dinner invitation. Father was so formal, she thought as she threw it back down on the coffee table. Then she picked it back up again. It was signed by the Hyuuga heir. Hinata smiled as she shook her head. Correction, she thought, Hanabi was so formal. Nevermind that the invitation was to the Hokage, as far as Hinata was concerned, Naruto was still Naruto and was Hanabi's brother-in-law, not just the Hokage. But she admitted that she liked that Hanabi and Father were finally giving Naruto the respect he deserved. She threw the invitation back down on the table and headed to the bedroom.

He looked up at her from his position at the round table that was at the far corner of the bedroom near the window; the curtains drawn apart, the moonlight streaming in. His feet were cocked up on the table as he went over a report; pen in mouth as he absently chewed it. He was wearing only his boxers. The moonlight hit him just so, highlighting and shading his muscles, so that one half of his toned body was brilliantly lit and the other side of him pitched into darkness. He smiled broadly when he saw her. He had never looked sexier. Again he made her blush and this time he didn't even have to try. Good lord, what was going on her with her! Why was she feeling so horny? Nayako had told her that that was to be expected and she would know.

"Hey," He said as he got up to give her a hug. He kissed her lightly, but she grabbed his face with both her hands and kissed him passionately. He pulled back from her breathless, a bit of white make-up and red lipstick on his face. "Whoo! I uh...I think you sucked out my lung, babe." She smiled guiltily.

"Sorry."

"No, no. Not a complaint, but are you okay?"

"I missed you. I haven't seen you in four and a half months."

"You missed me so much you had to go see Sasuke first, huh?" He asked. His eyes had a mischievous, teasing glint in them. She knew that he already knew. He was Hokage. He knew everything that went on in the village. But the mere mention of Sasuke's name was an instant mood killer for Hinata. It was as if someone had dashed a bucket of cold water on her fire.

"I just wanted to see how he was doing."

"He's doing much better. He was bugshit insane, but now he's just insane." He said it lightly as he turned his back to head back to the table, but she could hear the pang of pain for his former friend under his veneer of relative insouciance.

"Hmm," She said distractedly. She made her way to the bathroom, trying to keep Sasuke out of her mind, but it was difficult as she removed the kanzashi from her hair and placed them in her jewel box. He had sent her one every month until he was captured by Naruto. Some of her most beautiful pieces came from him. He had asked her tonight if she ever wore any of them. He didn't react when she told him no. Naruto asked her why she kept them. She could never give him a proper answer.

Like Nayako, his eyes were now useless. But unlike Nayako, Sasuke was not reformed. Hanabi had jokingly suggested that like Nayako, maybe Sasuke was missing the one true love in his life, to make him settle down. "Yeah. Right." Hinata had responded and Hanabi and Nayako had laughed out loud at Hinata's sarcasm. Nayako falling in love was the exception, not the rule. Hanabi thought Sasuke incapable of love, only hate. Hinata knew that she was wrong.

On the surface he looked sane despite the bandages over his eyes and the fact that his hands and feet were forever chained with special metals that sealed his chakra to the barest limit. The chains were a sick and twisted version of a Chinese finger trap – the more he resisted them, the tighter the hold on him and his chakra. He couldn't let his chakra levels rise above ten percent – the kind necessary for a potted plant to survive. Anything more than that and he would kill himself with his own strength. Eventually he gave up resistance. Hinata assumed that he probably got tired of waking up in his own waste after he would pass out for days at a time. The guards were always so kind enough to revive him just before he entered death's door. That was the thing. He would never die instantly. It would be a slow and torturous death filled with humiliation. And the ANBU would never let him have even that.

She hadn't been expecting him to be up, but he was.

"I brought you some tomatoes, all different kinds." He didn't say anything and they ate some in silence. She knew that it bugged him that she knew him so well. After a long while, he said,

"Why are you here? Naruto told me that you had a mission in Kumo and you weren't expected back until October at least." He was calmly sitting up on his cot, not even distracted by the chains that ran like an elaborate pulley system from his hands and feet to the wall. She leaned on the outside bars of his cell.

"I don't think that I'd be suitably qualified for that mission. Something came up. I probably won't be on missions for a while."

There was a pause.

"I see. Congratulations."

She turned to look at him. He was struggling to maintain his usual neutral expression.

"Sasuke-san..."

"Leave me alone. Leave me alone, Hinata."

"Sasuke –"

"Leave me!" He lunged at her – she didn't flinch – but the chains pulled him back and he fell back onto the floor exhausted as if he had just trained for ten days straight. He started to laugh. She looked at him quizzically, pitifully.

"Do you think," He was breathing so hard that he had to stop and pause, "...that this is a fitting punishment for me?"

"Honestly, for all that you've done...yes." It was hard to forget that he had tried to kill both her and Naruto on multiple occasions, not to mention all of Konoha. And he would never know just how much he hurt himself when he had hurt her. He had stabbed her in her stomach once, after she had left him, after she had used him… He thought that he could have had what she was going to have with Naruto, a friendship, a love, but if only he knew how much he hurt himself when he stabbed her then… If he only knew…he never had a chance.

"And what about your punishment?" She looked at him blankly. "What punishment should you get for making me feel this way? Let me ask you a question. What punishment do you think you deserve for joining my team and manipulating my emotions for you?"

Hinata lowered her eyes. It wasn't her proudest moment in her years as a ninja or as a person for that matter. "I am sorry, Sasuke-san, but I was simply…doing my job."

"Liar. I know you too well. You loved me once."

She couldn't tell what emotion he was wearing now, but she could imagine that in his heart he had for her a hatred worse than that of a million burning suns.

"Get out." He said calmly. "Is this not enough punishment for you? You have to fling your happiness in my face as well?"

"That's not what I came t –"

"GET OUT!"

She hesitated for a moment, but left soon when she realized that he would try to attack her again, with absolute disregard for the futility of it. He loved and hated her in the same way.

Now, now that she had had a bath and rinsed off the bitter memories that encompassed Sasuke, she felt a bit better. She had gone to see him in an attempt to figure out what she felt for him after all these years. She remembered when he had showed up on the battlefield during the War. She nearly had a heart attack. She used to be so scared of him. But now, he was a faint reminder of all the things that she had worked for. She felt not pity, not hatred, not love, but nothing. She felt nothing for him. He was a distant memory and she was glad for it.

She stepped out into the bedroom and saw that Naruto was sitting on the edge of the bed much like he had the first time they had made love in that crummy apartment of his. She came to stand over him and he rested his head on her stomach just like he had done ten years ago, her hair falling like a curtain around him.

"You know you're the only ninja that can report to the Hokage in bed." He said and looked up at her with a cheeky smile. She smiled shyly at him, her face reddening. "What happened? You didn't want to say anything in your letter. I asked Hanabi, Nayako and Kakashi and no one wants to tell me why the mission was aborted. I'm not sure, but I think that's insubordination."

"It is, but I have a good reason." He looked at her expectantly as she stepped back from him a bit and opened her kimono-esque robe to expose herself to him. He looked at her, really looked at her. "Notice anything different?"

"My beautiful, beautiful geisha," he muttered as he looked at her.

Face: smooth and fair with a dusting of a natural flush on her cheeks. Eyes: bright and shining, but made intimate by her lowered lashes. Lips: sweetheart shaped; soft with a tongue that's at once caressing and forceful. Neck: Long, sleek, creamy, bite-able.

Breasts: Excellent; considerably more rounded and fuller than he remembered (but that was not a complaint) with pink and erect nipples, dark red when aroused from him nibbling them softly. Waist: Hmmm. He'd come back to that.

Legs: Not that long as she was not that tall, but still smooth and unmarred by scars or blemishes. Feet: tiny; ankles: slim. Cooch: tight, small triangle of hair, sensitive (no complaints about that from either party).

He was back up at the waist. He always knew Hinata to have a very tiny waist that gradually rounded out to her hips. Her lighter kimonos always clung in to her waist. But now...He didn't know how to bring it up, but it seemed as if Hinata had put on some weight.

"Did you miss me, Naru?"

"Of course I missed you! There's so much to miss." He smiled brightly, unable to take his eyes off of her considerably larger tummy. "You uh, you had something big to eat or something?"

"What do you mean? I...I did eat some of the tomatoes with Sasuke-san."

"Is that all? I mean, did you eat him too?"

"Naruto!" She screamed at him and shut her robe tightly around her.

"What? I'm sorry. I don't mind if you put on weight, but it's kinda odd to put on that much in a specific area in such a short amount of time. I mean, the only people who do that are preg– OH MY GOD!"

"Number one knuckle-headed ninja," Hinata muttered but Naruto totally didn't hear, understandable really since he was busy jumping up and down like an idiot, bubbling over with joy. She was angry with him for all of three seconds until she saw how happy he was. He ran to the window and flung it open.

"I'm gonna be a daddy!" He said in sing-song. He saw Shikamaru quietly stealing a smoke on a nearby rooftop and he shouted to him, "Hey Shikamaru! I'm going to be a daddy! And stop smoking!" He closed back the window before he was able to hear Shikamaru congratulate him and then call him a bloody sell out. He drew the curtains and turned back to Hinata, his smile nearly touching the back of his spine. Her face was hard like concrete.

"I'm not pregnant, Naruto. I've just put on a bit of weight. How insensitive can you be?"

"What?" his expression fell so hard and so fast that it made an audible thud when it hit the floor.

"Ha! I was joking. You should have seen your face. Ha!" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oho! You have jokes, huh? Come over here. Let me put a smile on _your_ face." She laughed out loud at that as he pulled her closer to the bed. He backed up and she crawled atop of him as he kissed her gently, sweetly as he cradled the back of her head with his hand. The kiss however, got more urgent and demanding as Hinata could barely control herself, already trying to tug his boxers free from him. He pulled back and looked at her with a knot of confused eyebrows and an intrigued smile.

"Nayako said that my libido would exponentially increase during my second trimester. You okay with that?" She asked shyly.

"I don't know how I'm going to handle all that sex you'll be throwing at me, but I'll just have to tough it out." He said and she laughed out loud. He pulled the boxers off as they were in danger of being ripped off by her. He rose up to kiss her and she rose up too so that they ended up in a sitting position when she wrapped her legs around him. In one fluid movement he slipped off her silk robe.

"I know you're the geisha, Hina, but let _me_ indulge _you_."

She smiled and he sucked on her bottom lip. She arched her back and he could barely control himself when she exposed her neck to him like that. Her hands were all over him and around him, making smooth up and down motions on him. Her nails scratched his back as he left small red marks on her neck and breasts – fingers dipping in and out of her – so slick that it was difficult to be precise – fingers curling in that 'come-hither' motion that hit her in spots that she didn't even know were there. There was a simultaneous sense of urgency and desperation coupled with that feeling of the world around them disappearing; a strange and erotic mixture of making love and fucking, romantic and sexual. Her hips jolted forward and then pushed upward to him, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Gently, he removed his fingers and whispered to her,

"The first one."

She was in that delicate stage of arousal called the 'plateau' and he knew that he had to keep her there long enough to just keep tipping her over. He raised her a bit and then lowered her onto him. She gasped, but soon she was controlling the movements. She rose up and down and he mimicked her, thrusting a little bit deeper every time. He kept tipping her over the edge as one hand squeezed her breasts and the other against her clitoral hood – her moans getting louder – her grip on him tightening – his back aching with pain/pleasure from her nails. She was quivering like a strung out guitar, her lips trembling as her orgasms ran into each other. But he was not going to stop until she called his name, the only time his name sounded as if angels were calling it, the only angel he wanted to call his name. She was close to it. She could barely string together a sentence now as every touch felt like her skin was on fire, but she knew what he was waiting for.

"N-n-n-n..." It was the one time he really didn't mind her stuttering. She breathed out "N-n-Naruto!"

He came instantly feeling as if someone had poured lightning into his veins. They stayed like that for a while – sweaty, breathing hard, close. She turned her head to him and whispered, "I love you."

"You know I love you." He said to her as they fell back onto the bed, exhausted, relaxed and satisfied. It was quiet for a few moments before he spoke up and said,

"I think we just made a twin."

He laughed at his own joke and turned to look at her when he found her unusually quiet. She was smiling and blushing heavily as she did that thing with her fingers when she was nervous.

"Well, actually..."

He thanked heavens that he was lying down or else he might have fainted from joy. It wasn't possible for one person to have so much joy, it was almost indecent. And then he looked at her and thought, yeah it is possible to be have absolute joy. She was thinking the same thing.

**A/N**: And _that's_ all folks! Feel free to write your own sequel. PM me so that I can read it. I would really like if someone tried to write a sequel to this. Let me know if you accept the challenge.


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